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CAMPECHE 




CampecJ)e 

SOME NOTES ON THE 
MOST REMARKABLE 
POSTAGE STAMP 
EVER ISSUED 



OTalter Clarfee PeUotos; 



NEW YORK 
1909 



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Copyrigkt 1909 
By xV^alter Clarke Bellows 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

JUN 1 m^ 

ZuASS A Mt, Nn, 



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THE SUBJECTS: 

A Foreword 

In General 

Campeche 

The Design 

Details 

The Surcharge 

The Pen-strokes 

The Catalogue Variety 

Date of Issue 

The Re-issue 

Cancellations 

Counterfeits 

Existing Copies 

Addenda 




•«*«««««««*««•*««««»«««««««,, 



44««««««««4«t»ttttl 



A FOREWORD 



■ 




OME few fragments, notes 
intended at the time only as 
reminders, — index fingers 
pointing to what might be 
more carefully scanned 
should the psychological 
moment arrive, have per- 
sistently grown far beyond 
the limits originally intended .... 

A word on the blank page of an interleaved 
catalogue has become a paragraph, only to suggest 
another, and again another, until the fair page has 
been scrawled over in both directions, suggesting 
nothing so much as bad latitude and longitude in 
the family atlas . . . . 

As they are disentangled and brought 
somewhat unwillingly into more orderly array 
it is but natural to wish that there is an unoccupied 
corner in some philatelic pigeon-hole into which 
they may squeeze without being considered as 
jostling intruders .... 

At first glance this may seem bordering close 
to folly. Many estimable people, who pay their 

J 



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.jE^aKsi^ 



: taxes, and are otherwise deemed good citizens, 

: regard this collecting impulse at the best as a 

: sinful waste of time and money. We may ignore 

: these worthies, — but not so the Student-Philatelist 

I whose quietly lifted eye-lid plainly remarks: ^'Of 

I all countries,— why Mexico?" This is serious, and 

: although brothers, a distinct spirit of controversy is 

: in the air, until remembering that arguments are 

: useless brick-bats — never convincing even though 

: they hit — we shake hands and gracefully admit 

: that the stamps of Mexico are at present very much 

: not the vogue. Their status among others of the 

♦ world may be the result of their many surcharges 

; or merely a whim of the moment, making other 

: surcharged stamps more the fashion. Be that as it 

: may the fact remains that in their very apparent 

: disadvantages many collectors will find the greatest 

: fascination. In a country like that one must come 

: boldly out into the open . . No school-boy 

I collecting here, — filling in the vacant spaces of 

I the album as per printed descriptions furnished 

: by a kind publisher, and resting with content 

: when all demands have been perfunctorily 

: satisfied .... 

I That this method has its compensations is 

I beside the question . . But the great secret 

: of the charm of collecting must surely be found in 

: the fact that it is so grandly democratic . . One 

2 



/ 



: may choose his own preserves, play there whatever 

: pranks he will, and who shall say him nay ? To 

; many the novelty and spirit of adventure which 

; entices him into a new and difficult country will 

; be glorious, and many a collector will experience 

: delights undreamed of in blazing a new trail 

: through an unknown land . . and doing it in 

: just his own way .... 

: In the present instance it is a pleasure to record 

: the companionship of some enthusiastic volunteers 

: who have helped to make the journey through 

\ Campeche one of unexpected interest . . Indeed, 

; the purpose attempted would have been quite 

: impossible except with the generous help and co- 

: operation of many who became friendly to the 

: task undertaken . . Only by comparing as 

: many specimens as possible could any logical 

: results of value be obtained, and their rarity is such 

: that it would be beyond the wildest dreams to 

\ hope to find these under one roof . . Minute 

; photographic and descriptive details of isolated 

: specimens in Europe, Mexico, and this country 

: have been readily furnished by collectors where 

: copies were within the circles of their observation, 

: thus only making possible conclusions with a 

: fighting chance to interest here .... 

: To Mr. Charles A. Nast, of Denver, Colo., 

: and Mr. Eduardo Schmeckpeper, of Culiacan, 

' 3 



♦ Mexico, especially, are due the most cordial thanks 

: for continued encouragement and helpful sugges- 

: tion . . while all philatelists will join in the 

: deepest sense of appreciation of the splendid courtesy 

: of the present Postmaster General of Mexico, Senor 

\ Norberto Dominguez, for invaluable official material 

\ bearing upon our subject .... 

\ And that is a reminder . . In designating 

\ this as ''the most remarkable postage stamp ever 

: issued" it is not the intention to encourage dis- 

: cussion, or to hurl a challenge at nimble-fingered 

: partisans — although thereby a prophetic eye might 

: discern many a readable communication from 

: "Constant Reader" and ''One Who Knows" in 

: the columns of future philatelic journals — but it is 

- advanced with what may be regarded as a nice 

: appreciation of its phonetic swing and a firm belief 

: that, after all, looked at in the light of successive 

: mechanical operations, the facts justify the asser- 

: tion, irrespective of a view-point confessedly 

: prejudiced .... 

\ It would be pleasant to think that the stringing 

: together of these notes might suggest possibilities of 

: others making similar excursions into the by-paths 

: of Mexico . . And believing that the best 

: things arc never written, but re-written, all that is 

: here set down is with the hope that it will be 

: revised, added to, subtracted from by future in- 

4 



""""""•'•••• ». 

: vestigation, comparison, and study . . If a 

: beginning has been made which will stimulate 

: interest and bring to light any new facts which 

: have but waited the coming of the sympathetic 

: explorer, surely a further step has been taken in the 

: wide domain of philately .... 






VVt^««t«««4«*%«%«««««***«*««*«*««***********4< 



«t«««««444«4«« 



The Provisionals of 
Mexico 



In G 



enera 



1 





N a far-away corner of the 
world, out of the beaten 
track of the traveller, un- 
known to the tourist, in 
fact, almost bordering on 
the edge of nowhere, is 
the State of Campeche 
. . That is, it seems 
so to all who are not there. Its present inhabitants 
doubtless regard us in the same friendly way ♦ . 
The resources of the country are undoubted. Those 
who return tell of vast jungles of valuable dye- 
woods. — of sisal fibre, — lagoons, — rivers. A place 
of much weather at times, when the little substance 
to be found underfoot by the post-boy as he picks 
his certain way from point to point is in inverse 
ratio to the amount of unspeakable climate over- 
head .... 

Even in this small world the place is obscure to 
Northern climes, and although a railroad has 



1^* 



"J' 1 



disturbed traditions by puffing its way across one 
corner and the r-r-r-ng of the telephone bell has 
commenced to startle its good people from a some- 
what dreamy past, it is quite unnecessary to 
apologize for gross ignorance should you slyly look 
up that map of Mexico in order to re-fix its locality 
clearly in mind .... 

. . . . It is a country which on the whole 
would not be inviting to one accustomed to the 
conventional and seeming necessities of twentieth 
century life in our latitude . . and yet — who 
knows — that silent canoe-man with ginger face and 
gentle ways who lazily splashes its lagoons and 
bays as his fathers did before him, may have quite 
as fine a place in the Destiny of Things as we who 
are more palpably of the elect . . What matters 
that statistics say its population has remained 
almost without change for many years? This 
shows stability. Its people, still largely native, 
live their lives troubled little by the intruding 
foreigner, and the manners and customs of yester- 
day yet linger and remain a large factor of to-day. 
This indicates a conservatism many a people could 
well emulate . . In such a land one would 
expect the unexpected . . so it is with no great 
surprise that even an insignificant postage stamp 
is found which makes us pause and wonder 
. . and look again. Thus it is to the merely 
To one who has been touched by the 




curious. 





ff^SPjtgairJlay Mi 




potent charms of philately the situation becomes 
almost acute .... 

It is quite unlike anything v/e have heretofore 
known, — altogether a strange combination, one 
glance at which will generally induce a closer 
inspection. Then it is easy to become inquisitive 
and the whys are loose — as to — its history . . 
the reasons for its very unusual design, &c., 
&c .... 

To many this is merely superficial . . 
when a simple postage stamp becomes the subject of 
any serious consideration it is a grievous waste of 
good ink and fair paper. But there are a few with 
mental bent turning them to odd devices, and to 
these it may be " good fooling " for a lagging after- 
noon. It is hardly necessary to remind these that 
in the study of the rarer stamps of the world little 
can be found in its literature touching upon this 
same Campeche stamp. In a general way we know 
that it was a local issue made during the troubled 
times which culminated in the down-fall of the 
second empire. But as stamps are known by 
the company they keep, we may be pardoned for 
turning to the catalogue and noting that in the 
regular issues the Maximilian series of 1866 was 
followed by a provisional one in June, 1867, for 
which the stamps of January and November, 
1861, were called into service and surcharged 

8 



MEXICO in gothic type* . . We also find 
the 1856 and 1861 type of design printed on thin, 
bluish wove paper water-marked ' R.P.S/ in the 
sheet, — the values being V2 real, 1, 2 and 4 reales. 
These were also surcharged MEXICO as the 
previous ones and like them were designed for use 
in the Federal district, including the City of Mexico 
. . During this time other postal districts were 
compelled to resume the use of the stamps of the 
1856 and 1861 issues where there were any still 
available. The next regular issue of Mexican 
stamps by the government was not until August, 
1868, and during the interim various sections of the 
country were put to much inconvenience owing to 
the lack of their usual postal supplies . . . .• 

Reflecting the political situation, the postal 
department undoubtedly had a sorry time of it. 
The various catalogues and hand-books dealing 
with the subject mention the provisional issues of 
Campeche, Chiapas, Cuernavaca, Guadalajara, 
Chalco, Monterey, Patzcuaro and Zacatecas, but 
usually in a vague and uncertain way, as though 
not quite sure of the domain into which they were 
entering. After the briefest mention they hurry 
on as though half afraid of being found in bad 



* Some might include with these the cuatro reales, red, of the 1856 
issue, but ■we have never been fully satisfied with the facts advanced nor 
specimens seen. Until these stamps are shown convincingly used on 
original dated covers they may at least be reasonably doubted. 










' **■•'! ■ > ■! la ■ <■* 







company . . Occasionally a more daring spirit 
adds to the list Chihuahua, Morelia, Oaxaca, 
Queretaro and Vera Cruz. This array has 
generally been sufficient to cause even the most 
credulous to pause in dismay* .... 

There could be but one result. The philatelic 
student, (a cap easily fitting the brow of any serious 
minded collector) has been content to pass them all 
by as doubtful if not actually mythical . . At 
all events they are not worth the time to con- 
sider, with other interesting matters at hand 

The stamps issued in Guadalajara, 
however, perhaps owing to the large number of 
varieties in which they are found and their rather 
pleasing colours, have come to be regarded with 
tolerance by an occasional collector, but even 
some of the best informed are extremely uncertain 
of the status of these and seem uncomfortably 
reticent or inclined to change the subject if called 
upon for reasons when separating the sheep from 
the numerous goats in your collection . . 
But, surely, to the real stamp-lover difficulties 
should only enhance the pleasures of pursuit, and 
a rare field for research and discovery is still 
almost untouched in these same local stamps of 
Mexico .... 



As a matter of record, others seen to date are PUEBLA, 
TLAXCALA, ALAMOS and SANTIAGO IXCUINTLA. 

10 






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1867 — 



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de 

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: With an idle hour at hand, and a wholesome 

: respect for an uncertain climate, let us move an 

: easy chair a trifle closer and survey the situation, — 

I still at a safe distance. It is quite the most satis- 

l factory method if one would essay to penetrate the 

♦ philatelic jungle to learn of its secrets .... 
: That provisional, or local, stamps were issued 

: and postally used in some sections of Mexico during 

: the tumultuous times of the *60*s is undoubted, but 

: how many were authentic and how many have 

: crept into the catalogues and albums of collectors for 

: other reasons is quite another matter. Strange 

I Nature, in fantastic mood, has emitted beings so 

; ardent that eagerness for discovery has landed them 

: plumply at the door of manufacture. It would be 

: impossible to attempt an exhaustive treatment of the 

: subject here towards establishing the authenticity of 

: the various issues made in different states. The 

: field is a vast one, involving as it does the tracing 

: to their various sources of many fanciful labels, and 

I should be treated by itself . . But the only 

; logical foundation on which any and all of 

; these stamps must rest would be the sanction 

: or direction of the government. Without that 

: they become merely private or speculative enter- 

: prises, and as such have little or no philatelic 

: value .... 

: Confirming the right or possibility of such 

♦ authorized issues by a state or district in Mexico 

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I when extraordinary conditions rendered such 

♦ proceedings an imperative necessity, an official 
: intimately acquainted with the postal legislative 
: acts of Mexico has drawn attention to the Decree, 
: then still in force, of February 2 1st, 1856 . . 
: Article 1 3 of those Regulations — freely translated — 
: provided that — 

; " In an unforeseen case, resulting in a shortage or lack of supplies of 

♦ postage stampst precautionary measures for relief should be adopted by the 

♦ postal authorities, acting in conjunction -writh the local fiscal representative." 

: It has also been pointed out by this authority 

: that in the case under consideration the heads of the 

: departments at Campeche, only exercised this right 

I and duty, as distinctly provided by law, and that 

♦ the stamps issued under these circumstances were 
; thus regularly authorized by the government. 

♦ . . This is most important and must place 
: these stamps under a very different heading 
: in future hand-books . . The same con- 
: ditions would apply equally to other states which 
: might act in conformity to the law, during this 
- re-constructing period, making such issues entirely 

♦ regular and legitimate subjects for philatelic 
; study .... 
; A bit of history, incidentally throwing a side 

^ : light on the relations of political and postal affairs at 

: that time, is mentioned in Heitmann's Handbuch. 

: . . It is a striking coincidence, to say the 

: least, that ''early in the spring of 1867 President 

12 



<5 



; Juarez advanced to Guadalajara, which place he 
made the preliminary seat of the Republican 
government/' As is well known the familiar 
Guadalajara stamps were issued at that time, and 
for nearly two years, during 1867 and 1 868, that 
place and many others in the State of Jalisco, even 
as far distant as Tepic, were compelled to use those 
crude, home-manufactured stamps .... 

That President Juarez afterwards brought an 
action in the courts against the postmaster, as has 
been stated, cannot be considered as bearing on the 
fundamental principle of the law involved. The 
fact that the stamps were in use for nearly two 
years shows on its face that they were issued under 
: Article 13, as quoted before, whatever question 

there may have been as to the revenues from that 
: source . . Various other sections of the country 
: were at this time left more or less to their own 
: resources in postal devices, a review of which 
: may well be reserved for possible future con- 
l sideration . . At present let us look at the 
\ stamps of Campeche only and see what can be 
; made out of the somewhat puzzling facts at 
: hand . ♦ . . 










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Campeche 



Can . . Snake. Pech . . Thick. 

(Indian Mayo language) 

City of Campeche, founded by Mont jo, Jr., 1540. 

Area of State, 18,087 sq. miles. Population, 

1900, 86,542. Made a Federal State, 

April 29th, 1863. 




m 



HESE more or less interest- 
ing facts may well be passed 
over, as bearing only in- 
directly on the subject of our 
present inquiry, — caviare, 
we warrant, to many, even 
at the best .... 

A glance at the ever 
useful map, however, will 
serve to quickly establish more cordial relations 
with its geography, and thus assist to a better 
understanding of its postal affairs . . Situated 
on the Gulf of Mexico, with Yucatan on the 
East and Tabasco to the West, it is thinly 
settled even to-day, the census of 1900 showing 
scarcely five inhabitants to the square mile. It is 
quite reasonable to assume that forty or so years 
ago the pro-ratio was considerably less, and was 

J4 








made up almost entirely of the original native 
Indian stock. The towns are few, scattered, and 
for the most part insignificant, the ports of 
Campeche and Isia del Carmen being the principal 
points of export .... 

In its geographical situation and absence of 
railways at the time of which we speak, it will be 
seen that it was remote from the Capital and 
necessarily primitive in its postal affairs. Most of 
its communications with the outside world must 
have been by small vessels plying between its ports 
and Vera Cruz, some three hundred miles to the 
westward, while rough post-roads with uncertain 
service connected its districts and villages .... 

Its isolated situation and the poverty of its 
resources must not be forgotten in a consideration 
of the postage stamps which would result from 
existing conditions . . Indeed, these are attempts 
so hopelessly inartistic that they are eagerly seized 
by counterfeiters and those whose love for the 
quaint outweighs their desire for the true as easy 
and profitable subjects for imitations. Among curio 
dealers and pavement vendors in the City of 
Mexico, in small tobacco and stationery shops, 
these stamps may be picked up in many varieties. 
That they are to be found elsewhere is equally 
certain, and many a fair page in the great collections 
in this country and in Europe are without doubt 
disfigured by them, the rankest imitations ever put 

J5 



\ upon a trusting collector . . And yet it is small 

\ wonder. Little is really known of these stamps, 

: . . . . Only recently one of the greatest 

: collectors in Europe, a specialist in Mexican stamps, t, 

: declared that he was never fully satisfied that the f^ 

: Campeche stamps were bona- fide, that to his eye 

: they had a ** made-up " appearance, and that more 

: evidence would be necessary before any confidence 

\ could be placed in them .... 

\ .... This gentleman is more commend- 

♦ ably frank than one of the prominent dealers in this 
: country, whose standing in the philatelic world is 

: unquestioned. He ** passes " on stamps as an 

: expert, but nevertheless sends '*at a bargain" a 25 

: centavos Campeche on the original cover which is 

: such an obvious counterfeit that it is amazing 

\ how anyone could fail to recognize the im- 

\ post or* .... 

\ And yet, until one is on speaking terms with 

: these stamps he is at a peculiar disadvantage. As 

: with others of rough and unfinished execution one 

: is naturally inclined to conclude that the more 

: finished a specimen is, the greater the probability of 

: its being a forgery. Both stamps and cancellations 

\ of this character frequently look ** too good,'' and by 

\ a curious twist of the human mind the belief is 

♦ often confirmed that only the bad can be really 



* It is only fair to add in passing that this has no reference to any- 
New York dealer. 

16 



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good .... 

This distorted logic is not always to be trusted, 
as in the case of these same Campeche stamps, 
where the forgeries are invariably far more crude 
than the crude originals .... 

Considering how persistently the philatelic 
mines of the world have been worked by eager 
enthusiasts for the past forty or fifty years, the little 
known of this stamp seems very remarkable . . 
The sum and substance of all that has been written 
of it could be put in to the proverbial nut-shell, and 
that has been strangely contradictory and woefully 
confusing. 

Let us see . . If we turn to the Catalogue 
for Advanced Collectors we see that they are ''hand- 
stamped in black and blue on white wove paper, 
the seal at the top in blue, the seal below in black, 
and the figures of value in blue*' . . This is 
quite satisfying, until we notice that Heitmann's 
Handbuch says: ''the top oval is in light blue, the 
lower oval in indigo, and the figures of value in 
black!" .... 

When these authorities are at such differences 
on matters which only seem to require a fair light, 
a good eye and one authentic stamp, we may well 
be skeptical .... 

Both of these works refer to the fact that there 
"is said to be " a 5 centavos value in the Ferrari 
collection in Paris, which they proceed to catalogue. 

J7 



P^ 



:#| 



This at least makes us wonder how many others 
have been chronicled by hearsay . . ♦ . 

Moens states that they are stamped in pale 
blue, indigo and black, but really tells us little, as he 
fails to state what portions of the design are in those 
colours .... 

Senf says, very vaguely, that they are "hand- 
stamped in black and blue,*' while the Official 
French catalogue and Stanley Gibbons are content 
with "blue*' . . And this of a stamp undoubt- 
edly in three colours .... 

As though in duty bound to add its share of 
varieties, Kohl's catalogue tells us that the stamps 
are in blue and blue-green, mentioning no 
particulars except that the numerals are in 
black .... 

Mekeel's catalogue gives us "Impressed from 
several office stamps " and lists only the 25 and 50 
centavos values. He adds, however, (on what 
authority he does not state) that "Counterfeits of 
these stamps are made by a party in Mexico who 
secured the original metal stamps from which they 
were printed " . . . . 

The Yvert-Tellier, and also Scott's Standard 
catalogues, give no description whatever, nor do 
they state any colours . . King and Galvez do 
not mention the stamps at all. That they should 
be entirely omitted, especially in a Spanish cata- 
logue, seems very curious .... 

J8 



Meyer and Moschkau speak of the stamps as 
having been printed on coloured paper. Other 
authorities give white wove or do not specify 
paper .... 

The year of issue is usually given as 1867. 
Larisch, Meyer and Moschkau give 1877 . . 
Escalante in his ''Study of the Postage Stamps cf 
Mexico" states the date of issue as 1876, a view 
which is almost universally held by the philatelists 
of Mexico .... 

A shock of unusual severity is found in Heit- 
mann's Handbuch, where it is stated that if these 
stamps are not merely imaginative fancies they are 
possibly only cut-out postage-due marks . . 

With this array of contradictions before him is 
it any wonder that the nearly-converted believer 
pauses, hesitates, and then with a sigh for the 
mutability of philatelic acumen, passes the subject 
along that he may engage in collecting to some 
purpose? .... 

And these truant bits of information, too, are 
of a stamp issued and used well within the memory 
of many people now alive, and who are most willing 
to testify on any matters of interest to collectors. 
Memories are treacherous as to dates, however, and 
at the time of its appearance there was not the same 
eager, ever-searching eye for new issues as we find 
to-day . . A few scattering specimens of the 
stamp, hardly observed at the time, must have been 

\9 



I 



quickly lost in the multitude of the world's fast 
increasing store, until the particulars of its brief 
existence were but dimly recalled even in the coun- 
try of its birth . . Our brother philatelists of 
Mexico have devoted much study to the stamp. 
Owing to their favored position we are bound to give 
their conclusions the greatest consideration . . 
But that the field has not been exhausted we are 
confident they will readily admit, and welcome any 
attempt to separate the real from the imaginary in 
the many conflicting views already put forth. 
The matter may not be altogether hopeless . . 
Let us look at some of these stamps with a fresh 
mind and from a new stand-point, and . . who 
knows . . perhaps from the seeming chaos we 
may inadvertently stumble into a road leading to 
the light .... 



20 







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^^^m 






The Design 



ROBABLY all are more or 
less familiar with the general 
design of the Campeche 
stamp. A glance at the 
catalogue will show this to 
consist of two ovals with 
large figures of value in the 
upper one. We are struck 
at once by the thought that 
this stamp was not made by the same methods 
that are generally used in producing a postage 
stamp .... 

That the two ovals and the figures of value 
were each stamped separately is obvious. The 
figures are never found twice in the same position 
relative to the design in the upper oval, nor are the 
two ovals ever twice in the same relative position. 
The upper one was plainly intended to rest upon or 
touch the lower one, making a double design. 
Struck separately as they were they come reasonably 
near to accomplishing this result, although always 
varying more or less. We have never seen them 
separated by any appreciable distance, but they are 
sometimes found one struck overlapping the other. 
A copy of the 25 centavos stamp shows this distance 

2\ 



4 







as 9 mm., while in the 5 centavos it has been seen 
quite U V2 mm. . 

The upper oval is 22 V2 mm. high and 36 
mm. broad and is inscribed ADMON. PRAL. 
DE CORREOS, with a line at the bottom, 
CAMPECHE . . Two ornaments, consisting 
of four small diamond shaped dots each, separate 
the upper and lower lines, while EN is in the 
centre of the oval. The letters forming the inscrip- 
tion are uniform in height, — fully 3 mm. — and are 
generally found quite clear and distinct even in 
faded and time-worn specimens .... 

In this connection we may call attention to a 
most curious fact. While the inscription is plainly 
as above, in letters so large that *'he who runs may 
read,** the fac-similes of this stamp in the catalogues 
are always ADMON.CRAL.de CORREOS . . 
Moens*, Heitmann's, The Advanced, the French 
Official, Scott's, Kohl's, Stanley Gibbons', Yvert- 
Tellier's, — works representing years of careful study 
and research, constantly revised and exhaustively 
re-edited, all show CRAL. Is it possible that in 
the beginning of things philatelic for this unfortunate 
a counterfeit was used for the design and every 
publisher since has followed in the foot -steps of his 
brother and gone on reproducing it without con- 
sulting an original ? 

This would seem the logical explanation . . 
And yet this view must be modified as to the original 

22 



., ■:^^^.ca^:- 









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.„wii.i;' 



Dh'rn 










I 


^ 


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x^ 


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^^ 




1 


M' 


\ 1 u \ ^^tB 


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***««««<«««4*444««««««444<444«4«1«t444f4«i«4««««««1««tt»«t««««»t« 



offender . . The tracing of the impression 
which is common to all catalogues, to its original 
sourc2 has proven a most novel and exciting 
chase . . When finally located in El ^oletin 
Postal, published in Mexico City, Sept. 1 6th, 1890, 
all clews seemed to end, and the quest was about 
to be abandoned, when further investigation there 
disclosed the unexpected, — that the *'cut** used in 
El Boletin Tostal had been obtained almost at our 
very door-step — the well-known Scott Stamp and 
Coin Co. of New York furnishing it . . The 
scent, thus regained, the pursuit was resumed, and 
with the added forces of this company what is 
believed to be the first announcement and the first 
published fac-simile of the stamp were finally 
located . . Thirteen years before the mention in 
El 'Boletin Postal,— or in February, J877, the 
following appeared in The American Journal of 
'Philately: 

"Through the kindness of Mr. Roeder we are enabled to describe 
tw^o stamps which came from Mexico by the last mail. They are evi- 
dently provisionals, and probably issued by some insurgent chief, and 
will undoubtedly rank with the celebrated Guadalajaras in rarity. The 
design consists of t'wo oval handstamps. the upper one being devoid of 
design, is inscribed as follows : ADMON. GRAL. DE CORREOS 
above. In the centre, EN; below, CAMPECHE. The stamps are 
evidently hand-stamped in sheets as the specimen before us shows part 
of the one adjoining . . . The upper oval is stamped in indigo, the 
lower in pale blue. The values are 25 and 50 centavos — blue and black,"" 

The stamp was not illustrated in this number. 
The account was re-produced as given in 

23 



Le Timbre-Poste in its April issue, including the 
humorous ''insurgent chief" supposition, and the 
following month. May, 1 877, the same Journal 
printed the long-sought and much re-produced 
fac-simile for the first time, saying : 

"M. Ph. (Mr. Philbrick) obligingly sends us one of the Vwo stamps. 
described last month. Here'with is a fac-simile, corresponding perfectly 
with the description which has been given . . . We doubt whether 
the Administration of Posts at Campeche w^ill find any imitalois." 

The same illustration, with the repeated 
description appeared the following month, June, 1877,. 
in Alfred Smith & Co.'s Monthly Circular: , . 

Le Timbre-Toste, then, was responsible for 
the first fac-simile. But the American Journal of 
Thilately in describing the stamp originally gives 
the inscription as ADMON. GRAL., and had two 
specimens to examine to the one which Le Timbre- 
Poste had from Mr. Philbrick. Copies seen 
usually show the upper oval inscriptions fairly 
discernable, yet exceptions in this respect might 
easily exist, — but it seems incredible that having 
two specimens the A. J. ofT. could have made 
such an error in its description. It is reasonable to 
suppose that the copy furnished by Mr. Philbrick 
to Le Timbre-T^oste was with a faint or defaced 
inscription, — (perhaps the upper portion of the 2 of 
the 25 covered the ill-fated letter) and that certain 
undiscernable parts were added, ad libitum, by 
the engraver . . This would account for a C 

24 



appearing in place of the P, for the extraordinary — 
really extravagant — top stroke to the 5, and for 
many other minor differences . . Had the one 
responsible known that every imaginary detail 
supplied would be reproduced dozens of times in 
all hand-books for the next thirty odd years without 
being compared with an original stamp and the 
mis-spelled word noted, he certainly would have 
been justified in more than a quiet smile at the 
protracted extent of his unconscious pleasantry . . 
This, once started, went quickly from hand-book to 
hand-book, and as far as we have been able to 
discover, no catalogue to this day has given a 
reasonably exact fac-simile of the Campeche 
stamp* .... 

Some speculation and many surmises have 
been indulged in as to the meaning of the mystifying 
ADMON. CRAL. Heitmann's Handbuch, 
although plainly showing the initial letter as C, 
translates it Administracion GENERAL. The 
Philatelic Dictionary says it is the abbreviation for 
Administracion CENTRAL, — both explanations 
quite beside the mark, however, the inscription 
never having appeared on the stamp. Neither 
Administracion GENERAL nor Administracion 
CENTRAL could possibly have been used in 



1^ 



* We may add that what are believed to be the identical stamps 
used for the original description have recently been located. 

25 



ii 



Campeche, the term for that office being Adm — 
inistrad — on Pr — incip — al. That this should not 
have been noted before by puzzled writers on the 
subject is difficult to understand, especially as for 
years cancellations in large black type in similar 
ovals had been seen: ADMON. PRAL. DE 
CORREOS,MORELIA, . . ADMON. PRAL. 
DE CORREOS, ORIZAVA,— C. VICTORIA, 
TULANCINGO, &c., &c 

The circulation of this fanciful creation has 
been particularly unfortunate as it has been respon- 
sible for many counterfeits being spread over the 
earth, and they have been all the more dangerous 
inasmuch as the most prominent feature was the 
long-topped 5 and that a collector had but to 
compare his specimen with the one illustrated in 
the catalogue to prove that it was genuine, and as 
we shall see later this type of counterfeit has been a 
very common and annoying one .... 

There is a period after PRAL. as well as after 
ADMON. The former is on a direct line and 
not far distant from the last stroke of the L, so in 
many cases it is found joined to the latter, making 
this last stroke an unusually long one. Each 
word, being an abbreviation, would call for the 
period. The lower oval differs in shape and size 
from the upper one, and is inscribed JEFATURA 
DE HACIENDA DEL above, and EST ADO 
DE CAMPECHE below,— ''Office of the Chief 

26 






fJil 



/Qv>5? ^,n^ , 

(o 9 > i& 



E 



P-^, 



k -v;/ 



^s^ 



t « * * « « « » < 



I « » * « ft < 



'*»«»»***««< 



l««i***««»l 







Collector of Revenues for the State of Campeche" 
. . This oval measures 2& mm. high and 37 mm. 
broad. Both ovals are double lined on the outer 
edge and have a single line inside of the 
inscription .... 

While on the subject of the design attention 
may be called to the different impressions found of 
the two ova!s . . One sees at once that they 
must have been struck at different times. It will 
be noted that in nearly all cases the upper one, 
together with the lettering, even though faint, is 
still comparatively sharp and clear in outline. The 
lower is quite the reverse. The lining is broken, 
the letters uneven, and the whole design blurred, 
ragged, and appears generally in an advanced 
stage of ''unravelling" .... 

The differences of these impressions are so 
very marked that they add greatly in giving the 
stamp its very peculiar appearance . . It is 
especially seen in comparing the word CORREOS 
in the upper oval with HACIENDA in the lower, 
these being quite close to each other . . . ♦ 

From this comparatively insignificant fact a 
most interesting line of thought is opened up . . 
We may dismiss the supposition that this difference 
of impression was caused by using dies of a harder 
and a softer material for the two ovals. It is plain 
that a new and little-used die was employed in 
striking the upper oval, while the lower one was 

27 



made by one which had long been in service in the 
large affairs of the tax-collecting department, for 
many different purposes, and was in consequence 
mutilated and worn . . This leads to a con- 
sideration of the sources from which these metal 
dies were obtained . . While the government at 
headquarters was supposed to furnish the dies used 
in the service, — cancellation stamps, postage due, 
registration marks, &c., &c. — there are many 
evidences to show that these were often a local 
product, especially in some of the more obscure 
offices. Some crude designs could only be explained 
by evident home manufacture. Again, some are 
found in offices widely separated which are so 
similar that the common source of the home office 
is apparent . . Confining the subject for the 
present to the case in point, while many Principal 
post-offices had been supplied with ovals very 
similar to the one used by the post-office at Cam- 
peche, — notably Orizava, Morelia, C. Victoria, 
Puebla, Tulancingo, and doubtless others — we have 
never been able to find any previous use of this 
upper oval used in Campeche . . The case 
does not seem like those of Guadalajara and Cuer- 
navaca, where the regular cancelling seals were 
used as the basis for the local stamps when the need 
arose. Of cancellation marks used in Campeche, 
the most interesting seen directly bearing upon our 
subject, is one found used in April, J 867, on a copy 

2Z 









>*«»«»«< 




of the 50 c. of the Maximilian issue. This shows 
the word CAMPECHE in a comparatively small 
circular design entirely unlike the upper oval which 
we are considering . . It is quite improbable 
that a die as well made as this could have been 
produced with the limited resources in Campeche, 
and we have thus good reason to conclude that the 
die used for this upper oval was furnished to the 
Campeche post-office from headquarters, and doubt- 
less for the express purpose of making this local 
stamp* . . The cases of Guadalajara and Cuer- 
navaca will prove very interesting subjects for some 
students' future consideration .... 

The design of the lower oval proves con- 
clusively the official nature of the issue. It was the 
seal of the state, placed by the fiscal representative 
of the government, showing that for the time and 
under the stress of the prevailing extraordinary 
conditions it was to be regarded as regular and 
authorized. In the language of the postal authority 
before quoted: **The impressions of the two stamps; 
of the Administracion Principal de Correos in 
Campeche and of the Jefatura de Hacienda, united 
transversely by the pen strokes of the Chief of the 



* This view is confirmed by the reportt given elsewhere, from the 
present Postmaster General, Senor Dcminguez, where he sla1es,-„The 
General Director of Posts supplied suitable forms or seals to the post- 
offices lacking stamps where they were considered most urgent, like 
Campeche" .... 

29 



i 



latter ... prove that such stamp was prepared 
under the guidance of the fiscal authority . . . 
And it is evident that the aforesaid formation was 
used on appropriate paper to be affixed to mail 
matter as a postage stamp to be duly cancelled with 
the black seal" .... 

This official also calls especial attention to the 
Act published by the Secretary of Hacienda dealing 
with the obligations of the Jefatura de Hacienda, or 
general financial representative, to interfere in postal 
or other departments of the public service, when 
necessary to protect or conserve the revenues or 
other Federal interests . . This would render 
the course pursued by the officials of the different 
departments of the government in Campeche not 
only a lawful but a necessary one, the government 
itself being for the time unable to furnish the usual 
postal supplies as in the ordinary conduct of the 
service .... 



30 



^nB 



\ Details 

* ♦ ♦ • ♦ 

: V alues — Papers — Colours 








INOR considerations of 

values, papers, and colours, 
would in the case of an 
ordinary stamp be nicely 
embraced in a line, but here 
they appear with a wealth 
of material quite out of pro- 
portion to their seeming 
importance . . So touch- 
ing upon their salient features only will have the 
double advantage of keeping safely away from the 
danger of boring some friend and at the same time 
leave the way sufficiently open to encourage indi- 
vidual thought and inspection .... 

The values: — 5 centavos, 25 centavos, 50 
centavos. The figures are large and bold in design 
15 mm. high . . The 5 centavos value was 
first chronicled in Le Timbre- Poste, Feb'y, 1882, 
on a copy being secured by Ferrari, the famous 
Parisian collector. A hint is thus given of the 
rarity of this value. The postal tariffs at the time 
they were issued would call for the 25 centavos 
stamp for general correspondence, ordinary letters. 

31 



for short or medium distances, and the 50 centavos 
for heavier letters or longer distances . . The 
5 centavos was used for newspapers and "open 
letters/' Owing to the very nature of its use it is 
difficult at the present time to find copies of this 
value, and it is excessively rare still on the original 
cover, but a specimen has been seen on a large 
portion of a used wrapper, which was of a coarse, 
gray-blue paper, of very porous quality, in general 
appearance not unlike the "granite" paper of 
to-day . . The 50 centavos is also a very rare 
stamp, as its absence from many great collections 
will silently testify . . The 5c. denomin- 
ation has occasioned considerable comment 
and puzzled collectors who place the stamp con- 
temporaneous with the Guadalajaras, Chiapas,. 
&c. . . Up to J 866 all values on the stamps 
of Mexico had been expressed with the real 
(12 V2 c.) as the unit, — with ths single exception 
of the 3c. value in the "Eagle" issue, which was 
approximately V4 real, and was designed for local 
use in Mexico City . . Commencing with the 
Maximilian series, we find the values given in 
centavos, — 7, 13, 25 and 50, — the first and second 
again being only approximately the one-half and 
one real . . While the precise reasons for 
making 5 centavos the lowest value of the 
Campeche stamps are not in ev^idence at this dis- 
tance, it was surely as logical a value as the 3 c. 

32 



***^» ♦♦♦♦♦♦**%♦**«»♦»<<<*« 



!««««♦ •it«*»««*t«»*44*»4»<flft«<i*»»t**' 



and the 7 c. which had previously been arbitrarily 
established and the 6 c. used in the 1868 issue . . 
It is safe to say that such denominations were 
decided upon by the postal and fiscal authorities at 
Campeche, consulting together, as seemed best for 
their special local needs, under the conditions which 
were peculiar to the service in their isolated situation 
and unprecedented predicament .... 

Again, the authorities may have been governed 
by the dies for numerals conveniently at hand, — a 
smaller denomination than the 25, mostly required, 
would naturally be needed, and they certainly had 
the die for the 5, used in both the higher denomin- 
ations. Under these circumstances this may even 
have been used arbitrarily for newspapers or ''open 
letters*'* .... 

The paper used for these stamps has been seen 
in two different varieties, — a plain, common, white 
wove paper, and more rarely a distinct tone of 
yellow-buff . . The latter is of such a deep and 
even shade that it cannot be considered a white 
discoloured by age or atmospheric conditions, but a 
positive tinted paper . . The stamps may yet be 
found on other coloured papers, as it is not at all 
unusual that for stamps issued as these were the 
most convenient paper at hand would be used, with 
little regard to uniformity . . Meyer and 
Moschkau in cataloguing this stamp may have only 

* Sec Addenda. 

33 



: seen the yellow paper variety^ — the Advanced and 

: other cataloguers only the ones on white paper, — 

: hence their incomplete descriptions . . Both the 

\ white and yellow-buff papers are wove, of medium 

\ thickness and rather close texture .... 
: The stamps were struck, several on a sheet 

; which was then ruled with a lead pencil and the 

: stamps cut out . . Or the lining may have 

: been the first step taken . . It is quite im- 

: material . . These pencil marks may nearly 

\ always be observed somewhere on each specimen, 

; at times forming almost a distinct border . . 

; Owing to the very methods of its production it 

: would be manifestly impossible to re-construct a 

: sheet of these stamps, even were one fortunate 

: enough to obtain sufficient material . . And it 

: might be a question if the sheets were uniform in 

: size and shape. Remembering that but few were 

\ needed for the limtied intercourse of the thinly- 

\ populated state, in all probabilities they would be 

: impressed on such papers as were conveniently at 

: hand . . The temporary nature of the issue, too, 

: would make it improbable that any very large 

: number of the stamps would be struck off at one 

: time, the authorities not knowing with any certainty 

: when supplies of the next regular issue would be 

\ received from headquarters . . The constantly 

; recurring "manana,** too, so common in Southern 

: countries would seriously enter into the equation 

34 



'««>«««««««««««<««««<«<««<«(t««<«««t«««««l«tt4«««<<«<«t«««t«9<l«< 



-^^^£ 




and greatly discourage over-production .... 

A postal official connected with the present 
service in Campeche states that from what rather 
limited information he could gather at this time, — 
''the franking of letters with these stamps was done 
on every letter separately, for which purpose an 
employe of the Jefatura de Hacienda was installed 
at the post-office with the stamp-die of that depart- 
ment, who stamped the impression of his office, 
when required, at the same time keeping an account 
of the daily prepaid postage.*' . . While there 
may be some very good reasons for qualifying this 
exact procedure there is every reason to believe 
that the methods adopted by the two offices were 
such as to enable proper accounts to be kept that 
correct returns would be made to the tax depart- 
ment .... 

It sometimes happened that the alignment was 
such that in cutting out the stamps one would be 
cut through in following the line, thus leaving a 
portion of a stamp on an adjoining one . . The 
first stamp described by The /Imerican Journal of 
Philately was with this peculiarity and the accom- 
panying reproduction shows a similar case — a trifle of 
the lower oval of an adjoining stamp seen at the 
left . . The possibility of these stamps being 
identical is referred to elsewh?re .... 



35 



The colours of the inks used in striking the 
impressions of the different portions of these stamps 
almost serve to justify the confusion into which the 
philatelic writers on the subject have fallen . . 
This has doubtless arisen from the fact that where 
a description has been attempted it has been based 
upon the examination of a single specimen only 
. . And, too, in choosing this one the writers have 
not always been fortunate in getting a genuine one 
. . Considering the various processes through 
which each stamp had to go before it would pass 
muster for mail — cr philatelic — purposes, it is not at 
all strange that many varieties, and in some cases 
absolute contradictions should result .... 

We therefore approach this part of our subject 
with some temerity, knowing the difficulties of 
escaping being considered too dogmatic on the one 
hand or lacking in appreciation of the expressed 
opinions of Student-writers on the other . . 
Tilting straight at the mark, nevertheless, it may be 
said at once that notwithstanding the description 
in the Advanced catalogue to the contrary, the 
figures of value in the genuine specimens are in 
black .... (We shall speak of the genuine 
as a known quantity for the sake of brevity and 
facility in pointing out certain radical differences 
only) . . Specimens with the figures in blue 
have been seen, — the 25 centavos value with these 
being quite common — but all such copies have the 

36 



w^>mi 



long and very awkward top stroke to the 5, which 

: as yet we have never been able to find on the 

: original cover, or even cancelled in anything like a 

; convincing way. We have never either seen or 

I heard of the 5 or 50 centavos values with the 

I figures in blue, and while realizing the possibilities 

I of errors and exceptional individual cases in a stamp 

: produced as this one was, we have never as yet 

: seen a specimen to warrant the supposition that 

: any except those with the black numerals might be 

; regarded with respect .... 
I As to the ovals, each being struck in a different 

; department of the government's service, different 

; inks would have been used and it would be quite 

: natural to find them differing in colour, — perhaps 

: owing as much to circumstances as to any deliberate 

: understanding . . And here we must recognize 

: the possible effects of a warm, moist climate which 

: might make decided changes in the appearance of 

: any original inks used there. But a characteristic 

: of these stamps always in evidence is a marked 

: difference in the complexion of the two ovals. It is 

: seen in what might be considered other shades and 

: also two distinct and contrasting colours .... 
: Again differing with the Advanced catalogue, 

: we may say that, judging from all the specimens we 

: have seen, in the genuine the lower oval should — 

: not be in black. It is found in shades of dark blue, 

: indigo, and in rare cases a decided blue-green— this 

37 



last named having every appearance of being the 
result of climatic conditions . . Specimens are 
seen in which the impression of this oval have been 
so lightly struck, or the ink has so faded, that little 
or none of the design can be distinguished, but it is 
plain that this oval should always be found in some 
variety of indigo or kindred colour . . ♦ . 

While our attention is on this oval it may be 
noted that in some specimens there is an indentation 
in the outer rim on the left close to the small round 
ornament, separating the two lines of inscription 
. . This is quite common and is such a wound 
as would be caused by some object striking the 
rim or an accidental trip of the die to the floor . . 
While many other imperfections will be seen in this 
rim, at times the line disappearing entirely, the small 
one referred to is easily distinguished, and should be 
kept in mind by the alert, for although seemingly 
the most insignificant trifle, like many a similar 
instance, it will prove of unexpected service when 
requiring a corroborating voice at a critical time. 

The engraving of this oval is so crude, and the 
impressions so indifferently made, that hardly two 
copies can be found exactly alike, but strangely 
enough, when allowances are made for this primi- 
tive workmanship, a genuine copy once seen, will 
nearly always be quickly recognized .... 

As to the colour of the upper oval, this seems 
the one point on which all of the various writers on 

38 




the subject have absolutely agreed, — that it should 
always be found in blue . . It therefore seems 
singularly unfortunate to have to add more conflict- 
ing data to an already over-burdened matter, but in 
passing it is necessary to include black also in this 
connection, and acknowledge two varieties, — the 
upper oval in black and the upper oval in 
blue .... 

Under what conditions we find these will bring 
us face to face with a most interesting condition of 
things .... 

This, of course, is presuming that our reader is still -with us. If 
more comfortably lodged by the wayside our next advance will have no 
terrors, although, frankly, many a brave man has been taken from the 
ranks of collectors of Mexican stamps at the w^ord .... 



39 






,«4,l4«««««*t««*tt«4«t4«444444«4«44«««t'4*444«444*«4iit«4<- ««•«««««» 



The Surcharge 




XTREMELY fascinating are 
the solitary, unrepresentative 
eccentric cases which are 
always the focal points to 
quickly rivet the attention in 
the study of every more or 
less exact science . . . 
This is often exemplified in 
the realms of philately. 
Brought vividly to mind by a cancellation consisting 
of four playful applications of the surcharge by some 
whimsical post-boy, this suggests the crowning 
characteristic of Mexican stamps, and incidentally 
we drift to the conclusion that should any friend 
have been fairly attentive to our subject through 
three separate stages of its creation, his good nature 
may easily stretch to a fourth .... 

We do not remember to have ever seen the fact 
noted that these local stamps of Campeche have in 
some cases a separate imprint of the name. That 
such an important point should have been entirely 
over-looked is another of those inexplicable things in 
which our subject seems to abound . . Here will 
be found unexpected aid in straightening out some 
perplexing matters of dates, hitherto unsuspected, we 

40 




-^^^^ 




^.-^^^.j*,— . 



S:i<a 



believe, in this connection .... 

Of the promiscuous and well-nigh endless over- 
printing of stamps which has raised such a ringing 
storm of protest from long-suffering collectors, much 
more may be said, much discrimination exercised, 
based on times, peoples, conditions, individual neces- 
sities, the objects sought, the advantages gained. 
This requires more than a superficial survey. 
Enough here to express the conviction that when 
that great work appears, as it eventually will, in 
which the history, functions, illustrating details and 
curiosities of the surcharges of Mexico are 
adequately treated, it will disclose to the real phila- 
telic student a store-house of material as absorbing 
as it is technically instructive .... 

But to the case in point : while we know that 
every consignment of the early issues of Mexican 
stamps sent to the various post-offices from the 
General department was carefully noted, and then 
re-issued, as it were, surcharged with the names of 
the districts, we are still somewhat surprised to find 
local stamps adopting this precaution .... 

Generally speaking, the surcharging of name 
or number of district on a stamp was to identify its 
place of issue, the advantages of which were many, 
but in the case of this one the inscription in each 
oval established its locale, — so why another imprint 
ofthenameCAMPECHE? 

From every stand-point it can only be regarded 

41 



S 



"♦••^I «♦♦♦••••••••••• 



•«<l<«t<<««<««««l««l«ll<l<«««<««««««««««««««« 



as superfluous, — from every stand-point but one 
. . And that one is Precedent. From the very 
first stamps in Mexico had been surcharged. 
Beginning with the name of the district, the number 
and other details were afterwards added. It was 
the law, as well as the established custom, and 
when it came to issuing its own it frequently 
continued as before through sheer force of 
habit* ♦ . . . 

It was the same in Chiapas. Many of the 
stamps issued by that state were surcharged, as 
were those of Cuernavaca. Occasionally one of the 
Guadalajaras is seen with the added name, but this 
was seldom done. We have only seen one example 
of this use, the name being C. Guzman, on an un 
real of 1867t . . The surcharged specimens of 
these local stamps are greatly in the minority, 
which perhaps accounts for the fact not having 
been chronicled, — although it would seem impossible 
for a matter of such interest to escape and not be 
overtaken at some time by a bit of tenacious 
printer's ink . . We may be quite sure that the 
first copy described by The American journal of 



* This example of instinctively following a deeply rooted costom 
is instanced also in the Porte de mar stamps. These are frequently found 
surcharged, although (in this case for a different reason) there was 
absolutely no occasion for the name of the postal district .... 

t A curiosity has been seen in which the regular surcharging die 
w^as used to cancel a pair of these Guadalajara stamps. 

42 









•?i' 



I V^Trf ^a^' " - ^ -^ 



^*««1«44444tt%«44444ttt44444%««t4444t«««44t««««t««4f««,t«,,,f4« 




t«*«t«4t(<tt«444< 



«C««««444 



i*»tttt«ttt*t»*%1 



'Philately was unsurcharged, as well, as any 
specimens seen by Anheisser and other careful 
writers .... 

The surcharge, CAMPECHE, is in black, and 
with a period before and after the name, measures 
19 mm. long and 2 mm. high. It is the same size 
and type of lettering as is found in the 1856 and 
I86t issues. When used it is found struck 
horizontally, usually through the top of the lower 
oval, and is sometimes hardly discernable, especially 
when lost in the lettering of the inscriptions . . 
It is also found inverted. .... 

It is friendly to point out the desirability of 
looking carefully over your pages of Campeche 
stamps for surcharges. If hitherto unaware of their 
existence a closer scrutiny may now re-discover 
some treasures .... 







-i--..\v,: 



Intimately connected with this surcharge of 
name is the surcharge of large numerals found on 
some of the early issues, particularly on stamps also 
surcharged CAMPECHE. Indeed, the relation is 
so close that our attention may well be diverted 
momentarily to follow a thread found dangling in a 
kindred by-path. The tempting thread in this 
instance was lodged in a cancelling a stamp of 
the 1879 issue, surcharged CAMPECHE. Plainly 
struck with the same die that was used for the zero 



43 



■.r^^ 


^^ 


i^ 


,^;^mI 


H^^ 


1 


•j^M< 


» 


1, 




vt'''v'~v^i-^ ; 


il 




"~ 





; in the 50 c. Campeche local stamp years before, its 

: re-appearance in J 882 was somewhat startling. 

: These large zeros are frequently found on stamps 

: of the earlier issues, a different type being nearly 

: always found in different places . . The 

: question arises, where did all these come from, and 

I do they have any special significance? . . 

I Heitmann's Handbuch finds in these '* an official 

: mark generally used upon valuable letters ** but we 

: have abundant proof that they are merely cancell- 

: ations, — even a statement to that effect from the 

: Mexican government .... 
: But how about other large numerals found on 

: stamps of the 1856 and 1861 issues, — the V4 , V2, 
: 3/4 , J, 2, 4 and 8, etc., surcharged Campeche, and 

: also occasionally PUEBLA, VERA CRUZ, 

: MEXICO and GUADALAJARA? Many 

: theories have been advanced as to these, but all 

: must be declared unsatisfactory which like The 

: Advanced catalogue and Heitmann's Handbuch 

: consider them as postage- due marks, — the numerals 

: expressing the amount having been struck on the 

I stamps instead of elsewhere on the cover . 

; But what shall be said of this when we find unused 

I copies, as we do, which never could have been on 

: a cover, still bearing these numerals ? A prominent 

: Mexican philatelist, on the other hand, holds that 

: these marks are simply cancellations, — like the 

: arge — that the old dies which had been used to 

44 








>» •^••••ttlttttttttll,,,,! 



•••«ttt«ltt<tt«l«( 



• •<<<<<<<<<<«<<, I,,,, 



^ 




■^•ttjiitLi 




V. ,.<...> >, 'a.; .' ,'.;,Sf ■V ja.iZaiiia.i^dtWi.ttfeyrSli^tijJif'.; 7 jjV), 



i 



« i »*.♦ «*»«4»****»»»*»»«*i 



%««««4««t«*«««««4*t44< 



«««««««««• 



impress the pre-paid postage on letters were occa- 
sionally used as cancelling seals after stamps were 
introduced . . The previously mentioned fact 
that copies exist which had never been on a cover 
would equally disprove this cancelling theory, 
while it is untenable again considering that stamps 
are found which in addition to the large numerals, 
^hf ^hf &c., &c., have other and regular cancel- 
lations. Even as long ago as 1888 these were 
discussed with some vigor in the German philatelic 
papers and The Frankfurter lUustrierte Bruf- 
marken Zeitung, of July of that year, published 
the reply to inquiries made to the Mexican Govern- 
ment, as to whether these numerals altered the 
values of the stamps, which was to the effect that : — 

"It has never happened in Mexico that stamps of a certain value 
have been imprinted with another value, and thus come into circulation. 
If, however, such imprints have occurred, they cannot be regarded as 
having been authorized by this government." 

In connection with this discussion it is stated in 
Heitmann's Handbuch that, — 

" The official work, ' Dictionary of the Offices of the Public Mail 
Service of Mexico^ hy Hernande^ and Davalos, Mexico, i8y6, which men- 
tions with the greatest care every important Ordinance bearing upon 
Mexican Postal affairs, even for the past century, (except the ones of the 
government of the Emperor Maximilian) does not know of any imprints 
(thus altering the original value of a stamp) which would have been 
mentioned had they existed." .... 

In the course of our wanderings through 
Campeche, this problem pursuaded another inquiry 
to the present government. It was even hoped 

45 



^ 



: that the obscure ''(except the ones of the govern- 

: ment of the Emperor Maximilian)/' would offer 

: trifling encouragement. A report from the present 

: Chief of the Service in Mexico, when examples of 

: these numerals on stamps surcharged Campeche 

I had been submitted, will be welcomed by philate- 

l lists as clearing up a vexed question and at the 

■ same time being a distinct addition to the material 

: at hand bearing upon the stamps of that country. 

: The report, given more completely elsewhere, 

: states in part : — 

* "Regarding the numerals X> /^» Xt 4 and 8 on the stamps sob- 

* mitted: the reason for these is -well defined by several ordinances of the 
; postal authorities of the so-called Empire, which in 1864 ordered the 

Z stamps of the 1856 and 1861 issues — demonetised emissions still on hand 

* in the General Administracion of Posts — to be used to supply the offices 
under imperial dominion, over-printing said stamps with the numbers 

Z X, 1^, 14^, 4 and 8 . . . These over-prints, in philatelic works known 

Z as surcharges, had as their object to make use of the demonetised stamps, 

Z giving them new values, which the offices needed, by imprinting letters 

or numerals on the same, thus nullifying the original values expressed 

; on the stamps. Therefore these numbers . . . represent the value at 

Z which they w^ere sold to pay postage on letters used in the state of 

Z Campeche" .... 



This official statement not only makes clear 
the status of the stamps, but enables one to under- 
stand the previous answer of the Mexican govern- 
ment to The Frankfurter Briefmarken Zeituns[, 
in 1888, — the present Republican government not 
recognizing the validity or standing of the legislative 

* See Addenda. 

46 



I»»»»»ttt««»kt»*»>t»»»tt>»>< 



>%»kl>t>>»»>>%V>»»»»»kt»t%* 



acts of the so-called Empire . » . . . 

However, from the stand-point of the philatelist, 
if we recognize the regular Maximilian issue of 
1866 we are in duty bound to accept these "new 
values" which were created by the same authority. 
We have, to the present time, seen the following, 
which may be called: — 

1864— PROVISIONAL ISSUES 

Used in Campeche, Puebla, Vera Cruz, Mexico 
City and Guadalajara 

ISSUE OF \Z5(i— Surcharged with new values 



% 


f. on un r. yello'w. 


% 


f. on dos r. green. 


X 


r. on cuatro r. red. 


% 


f. on un r. yellow. 


K 


r. on dos r. green. 


M 


r. on medio r. blue. 


X 


r. on un r. yellow. 


y^ 


f. on dos r. green. 


\ 


f. on un r. yellow. 


3 


r. on un r. yellow. 


3 


r. on dos r. green. (Zacatecas) 


4 


r. on un r. yellow. 


5 


r. on un r. yelloTv. 


6 


r. on un r. yellow. 


8 


f. on un r yellow. 


8 


r. on dos r. green. 



ISSUE OF \Z^\~-Sur charged with new values 



% r. on medio r. buff. 
X r« on dos r. pink. 
V7. t. on cuatro r. yellow. 
X «■• on cuatro r. yellow. 
2 r- on dos r. pink. 

47 



(Surch. twice) 
(Surch. Inverted) 



I 



mm 

DIRKCION GKNERSL DE C0RRE03 

MEXICO. 



en el Museo de eetc Direccldn General, 

Reapeoto de los niimeroB l/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1 y 
8 marcados sobre loe tltnbreo de Dos y Cuatro realeB (8a. Bre - 
gunta), la raz<5n de ear de esoB numeroe estd bien deflnlda por 
divercBB dlBpOBiciones econdmicae de las autoridedee postales - 
del llamado Imperio, que ordenaron hacer uao on el afio de 1864,- 
de Ipe tlmbroB de 1856 y 1861, (emislones fenecldne ', exleten - 
tcs en la AdinlnlBtracl<5n General, pare proveer & las Oficlnas - 
aue eBtaban bajo bu domlnlo, contramarcando dichOK tlnhres con 
los niimeroe 1/4, 1/2, y 3/4 de real, y 1, y B rer-les; eatando 
de acuerdo ^Bta contraiLarca con las tarlfas de porteB de aque _ 
11a ^poca, que fijaban l/4 de real para cada perlddico. Ee - 
tas contratcarcas, que on Iob llbros de loe filatclietas ee Ha- 
inan BObre - cargOB . tenlan por objeto anrovechar tlmbree fenocl- 
dOB marc^ndoleB con clfraa 6 con letraa el valor que se neceei- 
taba, nulificendo este hecho el valor Impreeo que orlrinalrc-nte 
ezpresaban las eBtampillas ; aef es que loe niimeros 1/4, l/fi, - 
3/4, 4 y 8 realea que aparecen raarcadoa en Iob tlmbreo fotogra- 
fladoB, que acompana el senor BellowJ , reprecontan el valor d 
que Be vendleron para el franqueo de los envfos del Diiblioo en 
el Estado de Campeohe. 

EBtos son loe \inlcOB Infoncee que la Junta 
puede prenentar & Vd., aprovechdndo datoe oficlales y nrivedoe 
que Be han Investirado con todo empefio; y le rel t.'";rair,03 con es 
te motlvo nueetroB resDetos, 

U4xlcc, DicieBbre 22 de 1,508. 



)»t^t««%»««««4«t«tt««««««««>*««4«««4**«««4*«««**«*««***«4^******** 







®^^S«fer 




4 f. on dos f. pink. 

4 r. on cuatro r. yellow. 

8 r. on dos r. pink. 

8 r. on cuatro r. yellow. 



This list will be added to as doubtless other 
values will be found. They are certainly of great 
interest now that the historical facts on which they 
rest are known,~especially the 1 real on I real, the 
2 reales on 2 reales, and the 4 reales on 4 reales. 
The original values having been nullified it was 
necessary in order to utilize these much needed 
stamps to surcharge them again even with their 
first values .... 

It will be seen that Mexico and Vera Cruz used 
the same type of V2 , while those of Campeche and 
Puebia are different . . The question may now 
arise, when a number was repeated on a stamp was 
the surcharged value doubled— V2 -\- V2 = 1 r.— 
suggested by the cuatro reales stamp above men- 
tioned. That these were surcharged in sheets, or 
blocks at least, and then severed is shown by the 
6 r. on un r., and 4 r. on cuatro r. ( 1861 ), each of 
which shows a portion of the adjoining imprint 

New and engrossing side lines are here opened 
to the students of Mexican stamps * . . . . 

We also note in the "Eagle" issue medio and un real values, 
surcharged ZAPOTLAN, also surcharged with a large 2. As these are 



* See Addenda 



48 



%*%*%%**%%%' 



■ %%%%%%%%%*%! 



seen uncancelledt the query naturally arises: are not these " ne^v values" 
also? The medio and un real values would be needed comparatively 
little in an obscure section of Jalisco, and the 2 reales, mostly used, may 
have been supplied in emergency cases from lower value stamps of the 
current issue, and under the same legislative act as the stamps which we 
have been considering .... 

We doubt not light will also enter here, in good time .... 



49 




The "Pen-Strokes" 



« « * 



a 




written paraph" . » 
American Journal of 
Thilatelv 



. . " Adding there- 
to part of the manuscript 
signature of the fiscal 
agent" . . . 
Study of the Stamps of 
Mexico . . . 



. . . '* The two ovals are connected by a pen 
stroke which probably represents the authoriza- 
tion of the official who issued them "... 
Heitmann's Handbuch, 



. . . ''The 'rubrica' of Don Teodosio 
Aviles, — the Chief tax collector "... 
Senor A. Milan, Postmaster at Campeche. 



. . . '*A pzn stroke transversely uniting 
both stamps, undoubtedly from the Jefe de 
Hacienda" ... 

The Mexican Postal Department, 

50 



. . . . "Cancellations — Control marks — 
Initials of postmaster" . . . 
Popular Guesses, 



One point on which all writers who have men- 
tioned this stamp agree— these pen marks exist. 
Not quite so unanimous, however, is opinion as to 
why they appear on the stamp . . As will be 
seen from the foregoing these opinions are of a 
pleasing, almost extravagant variety. There have 
been similar examples in other countries of stamps 
requiring a manuscript authori2ation,which, perhaps, 
may account for the prevailing impression in this 
case, irrespective of slight conjectural details. On 
the whole these rather serve to heighten the 
picturesque elements of our subject and give it 
distinction. Incidentally they stimulate the mind 
and encourage healthy controversy. Without a 
reasonable difference of opinion a philatelic dis- 
cussion — like a horse race — becomes a very halting 
affair. 

Without extending these notes to any alarming 
extent it may be remarked that this is the only 
instance where a stamp in Mexico needed this 
written addition — yet this must be reserved to the 
postage stamps. A few of the state revenues of 
Puebla are exceptions. Of these stamps of Cam- 
peche the general opinion is that owing to the 

51 




peculiar methods of production it was considered 
necessary to join the ovals which represented the 
fiscal and post office departments with what may- 
be called familiarly an official O. K. . . Nearly 
as universal is the belief that this mark is the 
paraph, — Spanish, rubrica, — or as we say, the 
''flourish" of one of the officials, — the "firma'^ 
which carries the same weight as the full written 
name, — a common enough practice in official circles, 
where large numbers of documents, pages, or other 
forms require individual signature, an example of 
which is seen on stamps of Impuestos Municipales, 
(Municipal taxes), of Puebla, 1883 . . In con- 
nection with this opinion, generally accepted in 
Mexico, we beg to collect some vagrant thoughts, 
leaving to any companions who have remained 
thus far in our quest to accept — or to forget 
them .... 

If we look at several of these "pen strokes" — 
they have been assembled from widely separated 
parts of the earth, entire strangers each to each, 
with no common tongue, so collusion may not be 
thought — we must agree on several fundamentals 
. . Strung along the edge of this page are some 
of these, disentangled from the bothering designs of 
the stamps. In their almost naked simplicity they 
look very different than we are accustomed to see 
them . . Although not hand-writing experts 
we all believe that we are intelligent enough to see 

52 






: — and to be positive of it — that these were made by 

: several different hands — surely, two, possibly three 

: or four. Granting this we must admit — really it is 

\ impossible to escape — that every one of these forms 

\ is essentially the same — that is, allowing reasonably 

: for different hands and different conditions of 

: writing — and that the whole effect is as though a 

: well-defined design had in each case been attempted, 

: with more or less success. In a general way this 

: design plainly consists of a vertical oval, made with 

: one line, and another line reasonably perpendicular 

\ struck through it . . If we grant this our paraph 

\ or rubrica theory totters and is in grave danger of 

: going down altogether. We all know that one's 

: rubrica or "flourish" is invariably distinctive, 

: characteristic and individual, differing from others as 

: much in shape and conformation as does the skin 

: picture made by his thumb in a piece of soft putty. 

♦ Take the ''flourishes'* ending half a dozen signa- 

\ tures and scatter them down the page and see if 

\ there is any common design, — if any two are the 

: same . . And if you will look again at these 

: "flourishes" you will notice some other things — 

: First, they are all horizontal in general character — 

: second, they arc made with a single, continuous 

: line — third, they twist and turn, almost invariably 

\ resulting in a tangle. These are just what are 

\ NOT characteristic of the pen strokes. Instead of 

: horizontal, these are vertical — never a single line, — 

53 






always two — no complicated formations here — all 
extremely simple. These are some reasons why, in 
spite of repeated statements of public officials of the 
postal service in Campeche and Mexico City, we are 
skeptical as to these marks being the "rubrica" of 
the official who authorized them . . As a matter 
of fact, they were made by several people, as we 
have seen. * 

Senor A. Milan, the present courteous post- 
master at Campeche has been good enough to write 
a letter containing as many points of information 
as he was able to assemble from local sources in 
Campeche . . He must, however, be mistaken 
in stating that an employee of the tax-collecting office 
was stationed at the post-office with the seal of his 
department, and the cliche of the signature of the 
General Tax collector, that he might make these 
impressions separately as letters were posted . . 
All these ^'signatures" being plainly in writing-ink, 
faded to different tones, and all different in outline, 
it would have been manifestly impossible to use a 
cliche for the purpose .... 

A copy has also been seen with a portion of 
the pen-mark of the stamp above, showing it had 
been applied before the sheet was cut .... 

As to the significance of this design, from 
our distance we can only point out what 



' See Addenda. 



54 



seems to logically have a bearing and leave 
the subject sufficiently open to allow a graceful 
change of opinion should future investigation sug- 
gest this convenience. Realizing the dangers of 
deduction at long range in matters now almost 
scientific, the following may be considered as but 
chips on the philatelic waters at the mercy of 
individual opinion .... 



In looking over large quantities of Mexican 
stamps one occasionally sees a design very similar 
to the one which our naked pen strokes reveal . ♦ 
Examined more closely this will prove to be on 
either the 1856 or 1 86 J issue, — and by a singular 
coincidence it will be found surcharged 
CAMPECHE . . It will be quickly recognized 
as it is never blurred with cancelling marks, and 
looks simply like an unused specimen with a neat 
''control*' mark, as seen on the margin of this 
page . . We are officially informed that this 
design is made up of the old Spanish lettersF and O, 
and is an abbreviation of FrancO . . This, 
then, is but a cancellation, — a beautiful one — and 
only known in Campeche. Did not this mono- 
gram come to be known as the distinctive sign for 
FRANCO in that state ? It really seems more 
than probable .... 

To turn to our local stamps again, how were 

55 



Si^--"' ^^r\- Mj^r ^ 





a Mimtt xsm mt m^mi 





-i 





they made ? All official and semi-official accounts 
agree. Briefly, the necessity arose. The post- 
master consulted with the financial representative. 
This worthy, acting within the bounds of the law 
previously quoted, authorized the issue. They 
settled upon the details, in effect the post-office 
using its seal on the values desired and the financial 
representative adding his . . Up to this point 
the procedure is undoubted. Now, considering the 
fact that the post-office department was but a branch 
of the revenue service, as the financial representa- 
tive noted and charged the post-office with the 
amount issued to it, would he not make some sign 
or check-mark on each stamp to indicate such fact ? 
In other words, as charged would he not cancel 
the stamp with HIS cancellation, and if so what 
would be the most natural and convenient design 
to apply ? It surely would be the one used before, — 
the monogram FO . . He was then through 
with it. A glance at the hand-stamped monogram 
placed with the pen marks when carefully made is 
here natural, — and the result is graphic enough to 
make our theory, somewhat gingerly advanced, 
to bear a striking resemblance to fact. With this 
mode of procedure accounts would be simple. The 
postmaster would return to the fiscal office any 
stamps not used and receive credit for same. There 
they would be destroyed. The fiscal agent having 
cancelled the stamp with his pen design, the post- 
56 




^ 



& 



J 



: master cancelled it with the regular '^sello negro" 

: when placed on the letter . . and he was 

I through with it . . After all, is not here only 

I the first instance of the pre-cancelled stamp? 

: There is much to favor the hypothesis .... 



We may, perhaps, even go a little further. 
Why are these penstrokes always on the left hand 
side ? We have never as yet seen an exception, 
suggesting an understanding as to the respective 
positions for each cancellation. The postal cancella- 
tion is nearly always on the right, — when the 
position of the stamp on the cover would permit. 
In a single instance where the pen strokes were 
found on the right a closer view showed the 
interesting fact that in reality they had been made 
on the left as the stamp had been *'pen-marked" 
while up-side down, — proven by the design being 
REVERSED .... 

Nothing could go much further to demonstrate 
the definite design, its positive position, its actual 
significance .... 



The completion of our stamp seems well in sight. 
There only remained the application of the gum. 
This appears to be thick, yellowish and decidedly 

57 





tenacious. It is commonly known in that country 
as ''Mezquite" gum. At the period in which the 
stamps were in use it was the custom in posting 
letters to pay the postmaster the amount required. 
He would affix the stamp and cancel same. Owing 
to the very nature of its production, to say nothing 
of the facial difficulties of moistening this huge affair 
in the usual way, these would, in all probability, be 
gummed with a brush as needed . . '* Manana ! '' 



This, then, is our case . . While in sum- 
ming up we may still ask to strengthen our position, 
the mechanics alone may here be advanced as 
sustaining the opinion early expressed, that here is 
a candidate for first place as *'the most remarkable 
postage stamp ever issued." . . At least we 
know of none requiring so many distinct impres- 
sions and processes .... 

. . . . There was, first, the stamping of an 
oval, then repeating with the figures of value, then 
another oval or seal, impressing the surcharge of 
name, giving each the FrancO signature with a 
pen, ruling the divisions with a lead pencil, cutting 
them out and finally applying the adhesive gum, — 
eight distinct operations and five separate impressions 
before ready for the post-office window .... 



58 




The Catalogue Variety 



"w7 




■vw* 



^^^^} 




1 



,.'> 
^ 



OPING that it will not be 
considered unnecessarily 
elemental, it is the purpose 
here to take a passing look 
at a few points of this 
composite production which 
might easily puzzle the 
amateur .... 
It g02S without saying that the stamps of 
Campeche are known to the vast majority of col- 
lectors only through an occasional vague mention 
and a hasty glimpse of the fac-simile — perhaps — as 
the pages of the catalogue fly past when looking 
for — some other country . . There are few 
information-bureaus where the glories of unknown 
rarities are extolled, and one cannot be expected to 
bow down to the sovereignty of new idols until he 
knows where they stand . . A carefully poised 
philatelic god has too frequently been tumbled to 
earth, and from the shattered remains has been 
heard only the echo of a distressed and muffled 
** never again ]" - . 



25 



That there are stamps, supposedly of Cam- 
peche, which are liable to cause heart-burn to the 
initiated is only too true . . It is proper that 

59 



the rank and file of these degenerates should be 
treated by themselves, but the wide-spread circula- 
tion of the fanciful design published in all catalogues 
for many long years certainly gives it a venerable 
respectability and entitles it to special consideration 
. . Stamps of this type are found, — a photo- 
graphic reproduction of one is seen on the page of 
plates in the Advanced catalogue — and its status 
should be confirmed or disproved by such evidence 
as may be gathered, — either for or against . . 
In this attempt, too, we must eliminate the mis- 
print of CRAL. for PRAL., as probably no stamp 
with that peculiarity has ever appeared . . 
There is a decided fascination in the study of 
doubtful stamps, and perhaps a special genius is 
required for accomplishing the best results. But 
much may be done just by careful, systematic 
comparison, and in the case confronting us only 
ordinary, wide-awake, common sense is required 
. . While all details should be carefully examined 
and compared, let us take the most characteristic 
feature of this stamp for a starting point .... 

The large and striking figures may first claim 
our attention . . Regardless of minor varieties 
an examination of these will reveal some curious 
and interesting facts. In the very beginning wc 
must recognize two general varieties, which for 
convenience may be called the Short and the 
Tall figures . . Of these the 25 centavos 

60 



Jkn 



1 






t<<<(«««<t««4t««««tt»«»««t<llltl<«««««<«<«<<<»<«t««««««««««<* 



Stamp which is used to illustrate Campeche in the 
several catalogues is what may be called the Tall 
figures . . As contrasted with this one we have 
a type of numerals found on some specimens with 
differences so radical that both cannot possibly be 
considered authentic .... 

Let us see what these differences really are, 
taking the original of the stamp which was repro- 
duced by photographic process on the page of plates 
for the Advanced catalogue, as representing the 
Tall figure variety . . The well-known 
published fac-similc may be regarded as a modified 
example of this type. 

THE 2 

Short Figures Tall Figures 

Height . . 15 mm. . 15 mm* 

Breadth, upper part 10 mm. . 9 ^h mm. 
Length, lower stroke J 0^/2 mm. 9 mm. 

While the height of the 2 as shown is J 5 mm. 
in both instances, it has the appearance of being 
much higher in the Tall figures, owing to a much 
shorter base line .... 



THE 5 

Short Figures 

Height . .15 mm. 
Breadth, lower part 9 ^h mm. 
Length, upper stroke 7 mm. . 

61 



Tall Figures 

17 mm. 

9 mm. 

U mm. 



Short figures. 
io 7 




10'i 9'/, 




As will be seen the distances are very different^ 
especially in the top stroke of the 5 and the lower 
stroke of the 2, resulting in figures totally 
unlike .... 

As far as we know the Short figure variety 
has never been illustrated in any hand-book . . 
The above measurements are taken from actual 
specimens .... 

Without forming any opinion as yet regarding 
which should be considered as the authentic type of 
numerals, let us look at other portions of the two 
designs . . In the Tall figure variety the 
FrancO signature is in the centre of the stamp 
instead of on the left, as in the Short figure 
type . . The colour of the lower oval is black 
in the Tall figure specimen, — it is indigo in the 
Short. The Tall figures are in blue, the short in 
black. The upper oval containing the Tall figures 
is printed in light blue, the one with the Short is 
more often in very deep indigo, — almost a 
black .... 

Here, in sooth, are differences a-plenty to match 
with the figures .... 

The evidence in this case is so very one-sided 
that it is not deemed necessary to do more than 
sum up, giving as reasons for only considering 
the Short figure type the authentic variety — 

Jst: The general character of the impression. 
In the Tall figure type the impression is lacking in 

62 



distinctness, as though too much oil in the ink had 
caused it to "run/' The result is a smudge, 
amateurish, unusual, and in effect, utterly uncon- 
vincing .... 

2nd: The stamps with the Tall figures are 
not found surcharged. Some copies of the Short are. 

3rd: Stamps with the Tall figures are never 
found cancelled in anything like a convincing 
manner. Cancellations must have great weight in 
separating the genuine from the counterfeits. 

4th: The Tall figures are not found on the 
original cover. If so it has in all probability been 
"made to order." 

5th: There is a superfluous number of the 
Tall figure variety with dealers and collectors . . 
The genuine is a stamp to be looked for long and 
seen very seldom . . In addition to these might 
be included that hard-to-define factor, philatelic 
instinct, — that peculiar something about the paper 
and general appearance of a stamp which tells 
eloquently and convincingly its secrets without 
advancing well defined reasons . . All have 
known this mysterious influence at some time and 
been conscious of its worth, even though unable to 
define its source . . . 

It should be remembered that the data given 
for the Tall figure variety is not that of the fac-simile 
often reproduced, but of the well known and 
rather common type of the stamp which was 

63 



undoubtedly inspired by the often-published design 
. . The measurements given of the genuine will 
rob this of any future terrors . . It has been 
especially dangerous as these numerals have been 
found on ovals which had unquestionably been 
stamped with the original authentic dies . . 
The fac-simile in the Advanced catalogue is an 
example . . In this every detail of the original 
ovals are found, including every minor defect, even 
to the slight indentation on the left of the lower 
oval . . But in other particulars the falsity of 
the specimen is striking* .... 

This condition is certainly unique. Vague 
rumors have told how these dies were obtained, — 
and impressions taken ad. lib. &c. &c. &c. 
But why repeat ! Unsubstantiated, they remain 
in the past — half buried, half forgotten — and when 
all is said, but rumors, the facts impossible to verify. 

Fortunately the numerals used on these ovals 
are easily identified .... 



*Sce Addenda 



64 



1. 



Date of Issue 




EVERSING the conventional 
methods of the biographer, 
in which the year of birth of 
the distinguished subject is 
an early necessity in attempt- 
ing a review of his career, 
the date of issue of our 
humble but aspiring candi- 
date may finally be considered . . This trans- 
posed arrangement has been unconsciously adopted 
— as one instinctively postpones his troubles — 
realizing also, when finally facing the omission, 
that by this arrangement advantage might be taken 
of any friendly guide-posts which might be picked 
up on the way .... 

It has been noted how the catalogues differ in 
this respect as in other details. Most authorities 
give 1867 as the date of its first appearance; others, 
with plausable grounds, J 8 76-* 77, — this later one 
favored by Larisch, Meyer and Moschkau. Going 
to the country itself we find that students and 
collectors in Mexico generally insist upon the 
'76-*77 date, views which surely cannot be ignored* 
In his Study of the Stamps of Mexico, Senor Joaquin 
Escalante states: 

65 





'«*»«««*»< 



i * t « t « t I 



»»»««*%* 




"In J876 some provisional postage stamps of the design given, 
made their appearance in Campeche, which were used for postage. From 
reliable information received — the facts not being merely an unsupported 
statement of individual opinion — we can give the following particulars: 

Owing to the disturbed conditions of the country at that time, 
(1876), it was impossible to procure the regular supply of the postage 
stamps of the Federal issue then in use . . . &c., &c., &c." .... 

This opinion of the original date of the stamps 
differs so materially from the generally accepted one 
that we may be pardoned for taking a survey of the 
situation and briefly examining the claims of each 
year .... 

The only local stamp we know to have been 
issued in Mexico bearing a date is the Guadalajara, 
— J867-'68. To be sure, the Queretaro and 
Zacatecas so-called local stamps are dated 1867, 
but as yet these are without standing and in a class 
of doubtful labels which have appeared from mys- 
terious, unknown sources. The authenticity of the 
Chiapas stamps, however, is not questioned, and 
these are always found in the hand-books under 
date of 1867; but that they were in use earlier has 
been shown by original letters, bearing copies of the 
stamp, dated not only Nov. 1st, but even as early as 
August 1st, 1866. The difficulties in the case of 
Campeche are somewhat unusual, as we shall 
see. The documentary evidence is conflicting, and 
any ''oldest inhabitant*' who might possibly testify 
in the matter, still modestly remains in the seclusion 
of his native hacienda .... 



66 



t««4*««t*« 



!**•♦♦«* 



!♦»»»♦*•* 



J 867 seems the logical time for this stamp to 
appear. It is when, owing to political conditions, a 
hiatus in the postal service left many sections of the 
country to their own resources, which were small 
enough, and a local issue would offer the only 
remedy for an awkward situation .... 

From the few original covers available the in- 
formation is unsatisfactory enough. The earliest as 
yet seen is a letter written from HECELCHAKAN, 
Aug. 2 1 St., 1867. It is addressed to Vera Cruz, 
and the stamp on the reverse, is a surcharged copy 
of the 25c. On the front is the superscription, and 
in the upper right corner in a small double-lined 
circle, CORREO VERA CRUZ. A copy of the 
50c. has been seen on a letter dated Aug. 30th. of 
the same year. This stamp had an inverted 
surcharge. From the contents of the letter we 
learn that it had enclosed documents and custom- 
house papers, thus requiring double postage . . 

And this brings us to a halt as unexpected 
as it is startling, the next date found on a cover 
being 1877! The stamp is another 25c. — 
unsurcharged— the letter dated CARMEN, Jan. 
15th, 1877— the stamp cancelled CARMEN— 
Enero 17 — 187 , and the last figure cannot be 
deciphered .... 

Here is confusion worse confounded. These 
covers and stamps appearing in the main quite 
regular, we naturally ask if it is possible that the 

67 




Li-. . •■^; --' .'■ .■ 

■iiiliiMiijifai'—'-^"-- 




• «<»»«'«»«««»«««««««««»««»«««««««»«««»«««««»«»tt««4«« 



««««««««««««- 




rn'mmmim^m^^ 



r- H 



""X 



!^ I. 



^ '■< 



C-v. 



\.> 







/ 



i««*«4«««4«««*«4444t«t1«4«44*t| 



* 4 4 4 « * 4 < 



•CAMPECHE- 1 

Punkten, Name rot 

•CAMPECHE- li 





issue wes continued in use from 1867 to 1877 ? 
Before considering such an apparent impossibility, 
and instinctively feeling that an explanation is 
doubtless hidden close at hand to stimulate the 
Sherlock Holmes instinct, a clew which seems 
only a trifle better than nothing, appears from an 
unexpected source .... 

We remember that in examining these stamps 
surcharged copies are found. The imprint, 
CAMPECHE, with a period before and after the 
name, measures J 9x2 mm. Going to the regular 
issues we find that this is the identical surcharge, 
in size and shape, as one type found there on 1856 
and 1861 stamps . . Following this type of 
surcharge, the next time it appears is on the 1868 
regular issue, but, lo, while the name is as before, 
it is without the periods. So, too, on the following 
issue of 1872,— and 1874, 1879, 1879—^83. For 
some reason the periods were dropped from the 
surcharging die — or other dies without them 
procured — before 1868, and never used again. 
All surcharges on these Campeche local stamps 
having the periods would place them before 1868 
. . Again, we find a somewhat similar and 
curiously convenient bit of evidence in the name of 
the second city of the state, Isla del Carmen. 
Briefly, a slight peculiarity noticed in the frame of 
the box-cancellation of Carmen was found also in 
the similar one of LAGUNA. From this was 



68 



«4«l««*«t*4 



!««««««««««««««*««»«««< 



i4«««««««««*««l«*««*««< 



eventually established beyond doubt that LAGUNA 
(del Terminos) and (Isla del) CARMEN were the 
same. There is no post-office in the state at the 
present time by that name, yet we find many 
cancellations of FRANCO EN LAGUNA up to 
the 1874 issue, and these on stamps surcharged 
L DEL CARMEN. From this date the cancellation 
becomes FRANCO EN CARMEN .... 

As the stamps of our discussion are found with 
the LAGUNA postmark all such must be placed 
before 1874, dating the issue at least before that 
year . . In 1876-77 FRANCO EN CARMEN 
was in use, and we have never been able to find 
stamps of that time postmarked FRANCO EN 
LAGUNA .... 

But how about these stamps on covers plainly 
dated 1877? The first thought must consign them 
to the counterfeit enclosure, yet there are many 
points about them which make one hesitate in this 
resolve. The stamps, with cancellations of Carmen 
and Campeche, 1876 and 1877, are sufficiently 
uniform to make a distinct class in themselves . - 
The more comparisons are made between what 
may be called the two types of the stamp the more 
universal seems their distinct individual character- 
istics . . Aside from surcharged and unsur- 
charged in these types we see different papers — 
different lower ovals — another colour of upper oval 
— numerals changed in outline — and perhaps more 

69 



^cp 












striking than any, — another style of the FrancO pen 
marks . . Then when this second type is found- 
on covers plainly dated in Jan., 1877, the stamps 
undoubtedly cancelled in J 876 and J877, a conclu- 
sion, long half suspected, yet persistently doubted, 
gradually appears through the mists of conjecture, 
until it is revealed clearly and distinctly. It reads: 

There must have been a RE-ISSUE! 

And this solution, now quite as plain as a pike- 
staff, inclines us to meditation, the burden of which 
seems to be: how could we have been so obtuse as 
not to have seen this long ago .... 



70 



The Re-Issue 




AGUE, incomplete descrip- 
tions, hap-hazard conjec- 
tures, the common abyss of 
contradictions into which 
writers on the subject have 
plunged, may now be 
approached in a fair light 
and with a reasonable 
hope of straightening out some of the tangled 
threads which have annoyed and embarrassed 
all who would enter into the precincts of 
Campeche .... 

These stamps, when originalIy*issued, served 
their purpose until the regular series by the govern- 
ment in 1868 appeared . . A long time elapsed 
when, through some contingency, it was necessary 
to again resort to the same expedient, and stamps, 
presumably the same, but differing in minor points, 
were produced in the same general way to relieve 
what must have been a similar temporary shortage 
. . When we remember that these appeared 
nearly ten years after the originals they can logically 
be considered and set down only as a re-issue. 
This reconciles and makes quite plain all the con- 
flicting statements which have bewildered collectors 

71 



>«»»»»»**«»( 



>t*»**«*i»«iitii*t«tl 



and even caused doubts as to the very authenticity 
of the stamps . . The acquaintance of this 
modified specimen may perhaps best be made by a 
comparison of the two types, and noting the corre- 
sponding details of each . . The most prominent 
feature, the numerals, may be compared by accom- 
panying fac-similes. Other differences may be 
noted as follows : 

THE ORIGINALS: 
Issued in 1867. 

Paper; Toned, — Cream, to yello-w-buff. 
Surcharged, with period before and after the name. 
Upper oval fn dark blue, at times so deep in shade as to appear 

black. 
Lower oval in indigo, or kindred colour. Numerals in black. 
Lower oval with slight indentation on outside of rim at left 
near ornament. 

THE RE-ISSUE: 
Issued in 1876. 
Very white paper. 
No surcharge. 
Upper oval in light blue. 

Lower oval and figures of value in colours of originals. 
Low^er oval without indentation at left. 



While these several points will be found with 
variations, the exceptions will prove no more 
frequent than in other well defined classes .... 

Prolific, indeed, is the field here stumbled upon, 

72 



• *l.*«4««4««««««4«««««t«, 



• •«•>«(«•««<««,,,,, 



«««•<«««««•«««(••««««. 



'^*^'0F 




■<i^'^r.^^^:. 










%^ 



««<.! ««%<<•«««««<•««««««•««««««<•«««•<«<<<•«•««««••«««•<•<««««««•* 



55 



25 



5 



for anyone still uncloyed with Campechc, and who 
may retain a lingering spirit to risk further ad- 
venture . . Instinctively any such will compare 
these types, item for item. Enlargements will here 
emphasize the striking features. The different 
shapes of the 2 are apparent. In the originals the 
shading of the downward stroke is continued both 
higher and lower than in the Te-issue. In the 
former the right end of the lower stroke turns 
upwards gradually; in the latter the turn is much 
sharper . . In the originals a line drawn from 
the extreme lower left point of the enlarged stamp, 
just touching the right side of the ball, measures 
2 J mm. to the point of its contact with the upper 
curve of the stem. In the re-issue this distance is 
22 mm. .... 

The two types of the 5 will show even more 
useful characteristics, this figure being common to 
each denomination . . A point quickly noted is, 
where through the ball of the figure the vertical 
stem would strike if extended downwards . . In 
the originals, or type 1 , this line would pass through 
the left side, — in type 2 it would touch the point of 
intersection of the lower edge of the ball with the 
line of the figure. In type I the vertical stem is 
straight, — in type 2 it is slightly curved ,to the 
left in the centre. Type 1 shows the extreme 
upper left ''shoulder" rounded, — in type 2 this is an 
angle .... 

73 






5 



50 



: Copies of the re-issue are found, also, with the 

: original, (or type I ) 5. An instance of this is seen 

I in the 25 c. stamp — re-issue — reproduced on the 

; Report, dated Jan. 1 2th. J 909. Here type I of the 

: 5 is seen used with the second type of the 2 . . 

: The same is seen in the 25 c. postmarked " MZO 

: 15,** at the top of stamp which is inserted . From 

: this it will be seen that it is impossible to take the 

: 5 as a guide in determining whether a stamp is an 

: original or re-issue copy .... 
I As to surcharges, in this connection it may be 

I observed that, viewed as other local stamps are, it 

: would be manifestly wrong to imagine that all of 

: the 1867 issue were surcharged. In the similar 

: instance of Chiapas, from all the data collected, only 

: about one-third are surcharged. So at present we 

: would say that while all surcharged copies seen 

I have the ear-marks of the 1867 issue, unsurcharged 

I copies will not always prove to be of the re- 

l issue . . On the other hand, with all the modifi- 

; cations natural under the conditions of manufacture, 

: we have no data to indicate that any of the re-issue 

: type were surcharged . . It is quite safe to 

: assume that the first copies described in 1877 in 

: the y^ . /. of P. were of the re-issue, the account 

I coming as it did close upon the heels of the event 

I itself .... 

: It is somewhat difficult to describe more 

: explicitly the different papers used in the two types. 

74 




yy<- 



f--*-«f,- -trj 



i*^>4««*«»f**tt*t4t«4*444*««t«4f4*««4«< 



«««4t««««««ttt*««4«t«* 



L 'V^ 


^? 


i 


*■ "f/^{*-*^ 
















r 


ia 







The originals are found on yellowish, and a positive 
tint of deep buff . . In all cases examined, the 
1876 issue could be instantly detected, the paper 
seeming almost unnaturally white,— allowing for 
the mellowing hand of time and climate. However, 
in these cases papers should be regarded in the light 
of the experimental conditions under which the 
stamps were made and it would be folly to expect 
here the uniformity usual in regular issues .... 

This must apply, too, to the colours of the inks 
used, although in all cases observed these are 
reasonably uniform . . The two types generally 
agree in that the lower oval is in indigo, and the 
numerals in black . . In the case of the upper 
oval, in the original issue this is in black, or a blue- 
black so dark that it would easily pass for black in 
any ordinary light. In a very strong light only it 
shows a bluish tinge .... 

In the J 8 76 issue this oval is seen in blue and 
light blue . . All writers describing the stamp 
speak of it as in blue, and mention no surcharge, 
facts which would indicate that an original 
specimen had never been used as the basis for their 
descriptions .... 

The indentation in the outer rim of the lower 
oval on the left near the small ornament separating 
the lines is not seen in the 1876 issue, showing that 
a different die was used than in the original issue 
nearly ten years before . . Owing to the worn 

75 



^ 



% « *^* ♦ ♦ < 



«*««««««t*«»t*t4tttt«< 



*t««*«44««««t«4««««< 



i«««t«««4«- 



dies used, this oval is generally found so blurred 
that any exact comparison of the two is in other 
respects quite impossible, — but here is a "focal 
point" quickly identifying the issue .... 

The manuscript FrancO — or pen-strokes — 
is nearly as satisfactory an index . . It was 
long thought that there was but a single type of 
this in the original issue — the one so beautifully 
symmetrical, the O of which is joined at the 
bottom— but with this must be included at least 
one altogether different, — the O joined at the left — 
the original issue of this unsurcharged specimen 
being determined by the combined proofs of paper, 
colour of upper oval, shape of numerals and post- 
mark of LAGUNA .... 

The burning question on the tip of the tongue 
is why were provisional or local stamps issued in 
1876 ? Frankly, from the domain of what should 
be an exact science, here we must pass into the 
unsatisfactory realms of speculation — or, perhaps 
better still, dismiss the subject until facts are 
at hand . . Students in Mexico, who know 
from actual experience the condition of the country 
at that time, unite in stating that the disturbances 
caused by the " Tuxtepec revolution " were re- 
sponsible for a cessation in postal supplies in that 
Southern country, causing a temporary return to 
the previous exdedient. It is claimed that these 
military operations affected Campeche, owing to its 

76 




1867 




Invert 




B3-ISSUS 



^ 



..J^SL^iL 



(~ 



L 



isolated situation, more severely than many sec- 
tions, necessitating this special issue, which would 
be based on the same law as sustained its previous 
appearance . . We can well afford to wait 
before entering into a discussion which would, of 
necessity, be the merest speculation, — and here 
record but the facts of issue . , . ♦ 

We are well aware of the hesitation with 
which this second issue will be recognized . . It 
has already been declared impossible, — the stamps 
resulting, frauds, by philatelists of repute. This 
conclusion is but natural to the believers in 1867. 
In fact the first cover seen with the 1877 date and 
the modified design was regarded as a monstrous 
imposition. One of the first thoughts to occur was 
naturally : Considering the general impression, and 
besides being in black and white set down in nearly 
all catalogues as 1867, how incomprehensibly stupid 
for anyone to make forgeries — not one, but several 
— on covers plainly dated 1877. From a very 
small acorn the present material has grown, and it 
is left to the judgment of any interested to accept 
or reject the conclusions reached .... 

The reply to a letter of inquiry to the post- 
master at Campeche is of interest here, although it 
is not presumed that the present incumbent has any 
but a general knowledge of the postal affairs of that 
time. From this letter — written by Senor A. 
Milan — we may quote: 

77 




^*/^/ C' 



^■, 



J / / ^^ 



t 



"The provisional Campeche postage stamps were used at l-wo 
different times: in J867, when after the downfall of the Empire there 
remained only the issue of the government of the Intervention . . . 
They were used the second time in J876-77, when communications with 
Mexico City were cut off and postage stamps for prepaid letters were 
required" . . . 

The exact date of this re-issue is a matter to 
be determined later . . probably in Dec. 1876. 
The earliest dated cancellation so far seen is Dec. 
1 6th.— '76, and covers with the re-issued stamps 
have been found which were used in Jan. to 
March, 1877. This would confine their use to the 
four months previous to the birth of the New 
Mexico, the history-making epoch of this country 
of fabulous resources, which may fairly be dated 
from the election to the Presidency of 

PORFIRIO DIAZ! 



Almost in the shadow of a press at a stand- 
still for these weighty matters philatelic, a second 
Report on the Campeche stamps has been received 
from Postmaster General Norberto Dominguez. 

A fitting period to this subject is thus unex- 
pectedly possible by the timely courtesy of this 
official. 

A translation, as originally received, in the 
form of questions and answers, may here include 
the following ; 

78 







M').:M»tiKvA-^i:-'1 , 




>« *^«««4««' 



>4«1««««t*41««4****<««««t««i«««««««««44**««««*«««««44« 



"To the Director General of Posts: 

In this letter . . . are the following questions to which -we 
append the desired information. 

I.-— In what year or years were the stamps marked I and 2 issued? 

They w^ere issued for interior, or domestic, postage in 1867, after 
the down-fall of the so-called empire, and again for Porte de mar (sea 
postage) in 1876, w^hen the government finally terminated the revolu- 
tionary insurrections in Mexico. 

II. — Where were the stamps printed ? 

In the city of Campeche, that being the seat of the Administracion 
Principal of Posts, as -well as of the sub-treasury, — the postal authorities 
deciding upon the manner of the issue, the same being approved by the 
fiscal agent. 

III.--Who authorized the issue of the stamps, the General Post- 
office department of the government or the sub-treasurer at Campeche ? 

The General Postal Department of the government authorized 
them, by Article 13 of the Decree of February 2 1st, 1856 (which con- 
tinued in force until 1883) issuing the respective regulations on the J5th 
of July (of the same year) " . . . 



"We beg to remain your obedient servants — 

Mexico, Feb'y. I2th. 1909. 
(Signed) J.Velarde. (Signed) Justino Obregon M. 

(Signed) Alberto Michel. 

(Sec'y.) 



79 



i' 




'■■' m 

DIRECCION GE,\-RAL HE C08RE0S 

MEXtCO 



Sofior Director General de Corraoei 

• En la eegunda carta del aet\or it. Clarke - 

Bellowa que dlrljo i Vd. desda Nueya York con fecha 31 de dl- 
clea'bre de 1,906 preclaa eus praguntaa en el rfrden elgulenta; 
en el -oual <5rden daremoa loa Infomea reapectlvos: 

I iEn <fa6 ano 6 afios t\i«ron enitldtta • 
las eatampillaB nilmeron 1 y 2T 

Pueron omltldaa para el franqueo Interior 
an el aRo de 1867 al raatableolDlento da la Raptlbllea, daa - 
puia de la calda dol llanado Imnerlo; y an 1076 para loa por- 
taa de oar al eetableoerae el Goblemo que dl6 fin de heoho 
y de derecho i las revoluolonea de Mexico. 

II 1E21 qvii lugar se efectuaba la Inpre- 
alcin de laa eatamplllaaT (Laa de referenda) 

En Canpeche, por realdlr allf la Admlnla-> 
tracl<{n Principal de Correoa A la rez que la Jefatura de Ha- 
oi.enda, puea que eran laa Adminlatraclonea poatalea laa en - 
carf.adas de la enlsl<5n de eeae formaa de franqueo oon Inter - 
▼encl(5n de la auto ri dad fiscal. 

III tQulen autorlz^ la emlaltfn de dlohaa 
estamplllas; la Dlreccl($n General 6 la Jefatura de Hacienda de 
Campeohet 

La Dlreool<in General, autorlzada por el - 
artfculo 13 del Oecreto de 21 de febraro. de 1866 (Tlgente 
hasta 1883) expldlcS el Reglamanto reapeetlTO el 16 de jullo 



Proteetamos & Vd. las eegurldadea de nueetra 



Bubordinacl(5n, 



^^.-^>^- 



U^xlcOg enero IS de 1,909. 

/ . y 



._.i^^:!f^r^i^ 



.« I* «<444«*«««««<<<<«(t««>*<ttttll<«t«1<««««tt«<«««««t««««, ,,,««« 



Cancellations 




EAR relatives to the stamps 
themselves, the temptations 
to become engrossed in 
these are not always to be 
resisted. Here one may 
fare on fact or fancy. The 
mysterious nature of many 
of them, — the infinite 
variety, — from the severe 
geometrical designs, through the maze of primitive 
ornaments, to the suggestive, almost symbolic 
examples, — ^coupIed with the fascination of the many 
stories they tell, — all unite to make their study a most 
exhilerating side issue .... 

Many an unexpected light is shed from this 
source, and our present look-in on Campeche would, 
indeed, be incomplete without at least a superficial 
review of the postmarks and cancellations which we 
encounter on the way. Considering its size, this 
stamp has suffered less, perhaps, from these marks 
than almost any other we know .... In 
many instances they extend but a short distance on 
the stamp, and are usually on the right, a position 
doubtless resulting from the fact that the fiscal 

80 



9ii 



♦ representative appropriated the left for his own. 

; When forced by the position of the stamp on the 

; cover, it is occasionally seen struck over the pen 

: cancellation, and in a few cases at the top or bottom. 

: That such a large target escaped so easily almost 

: seems a matter of design, and we have seen 

: specimens where one could easily imagine the 

I eager hand of the postmaster had been stayed, and 

I his duty tempered by the thought that it was the 

; Seal of the State he was defacing. At all events 

: postmarks are found with but little on the stamp— 

: for all of which we may be truly grateful .... 

: A list including all cancellations of which we 

: have trace may eventually grow, and serve to 

: indicate how generally the stamps were used in the 

; two principal towns of Campeche and Isla del 

; Carmen, and the few scattering villages . . Of 

: the original issue the following may be recorded 

: here : 

: CAMPECHE. 

: CHAMPOTON. 

: HECELCHAKAN. 

I LAGUNA. (Carmen) 

: Of the re-issue we have seen : 

: CAMPECHE. 

: CARMEN. 

: CHAMPOTON - J 877 (?) 

: From this list it should not be inferred that the 

: originals were more extensively used than when 

8J 



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'»«t»»*****tl««««««< 



>»«»»»»»»»»»»»t»»»i»»»t«l 



re-issued. Quite the contrary is the case. Now 
that the two issues are known it will be a matter 
of some interest to determine their relative use, — 
and scarcity. Already it may be said that the 
originals will undoubtedly be known among the 
world's great rarities^ while the re-issue must from 
necessity remain, as it always has been, a very 
scarce stamp .... 

A word as to the designs : Of the original 
issue the only Campeche cancellation so far seen is 
in an oval form, an upper line of inscription, 
FRANCO EN CAMPECHE,~and below, 
CORREOS. One copy shows the centre without 
date; another, (probably used later) has here a line : 
24 ~ENE, (Jan.) 1868 ... . 

CHAMPOTON is in a long, narrow rec- 
tangle, 40 X 8 mm., the corners slightly diagonaled. 
It is without date . . . , 

The two letters bearing the HECEL- 
CHAKAN postmark have already been men- 
tioned. They are dated respectively Aug. 2j-st. 
and Aug. 30-th., 1867. This cancellation is in an 
oval, somewhat similar to that of Campeche, and is 
very distinctly printed, 36 X 23 mm. It has been 
seen on each of the values, and is also without 
date .... 

The LAGUNA postmark is in three, or 
perhaps four lines. It was a rectangular box- 
stamp, the first line of inscription, FRANCO; the 

82 



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t«»,>«<tl«l<««»»«»«>«»««»«««««««<««««««««««««««««««»t»»«tkt»t««««* 



second, LAGUNA; the third, the month and day, 
and the fourth, if added, the year. In those seen it 
was impossible to determine if the year was used. 
This cancellation on the regular issues of 1864 and 
J 868 did not have the year. The LAGUNA post- 
mark was continued through the 1872 regular 
issue, and the latest date we have found of its use 
was on a 10 c, black, of the 1874 issue, the stamp 
surcharged 5 75, the cancellation showing the 
month, April. This probably indicates, approxi- 
mately, the time when the postmark was changed 
from LAGUNA to CARMEN * .... 

Of the re-issue we may note the cancellations 
of CAMPECHE and CARMEN. The former is 
an oval, 31 X 20 mm. with FRANCO EN 
CAMPECHE above, a line (doubtless CORREOS) 
below, and date in the centre. The comparison of 
this oval with the one used on the original issue in 
*67 shows that they differ materially, as would 
naturally be the case. Of the re-issue we have 
seen this cancellation dated Dec. 16-th. — '76 and 
Jan. 25-th. '77 ... . 

The CARMEN is like the LAGUNA, the 
fourth line being the year, in this instance plainly 



An entirely different cancellation, with the name in full: 
FRANCO ISLA DEL CARMEN, has been found, used on the 1864 
issue, but it is believed to be extremely rare. We have only seen a single 
copy of this, while the LAGUNA postmark on the same issue is com- 
paratively common. 

83 











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1867 






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♦ •♦'••••♦♦•I 



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intended to appear. The CHAMPOTON post- 
mark, dated 1877, has been reported in Mexico 
City, but is at present unverified .... 

Of the re-issue the CARMEN postmark is 
more often seen. And of this a striking charac- 
teristic should be recorded. The year of the date 
is seldom clearly shown. The 187 is usually fol- 
lowed by a blurred, indistinct figure which might 
in turn be a 3, a 6, or a 7. It is always a little 
below the line of the other figures, and is more 
often like a 3 than any other figure. Specimens 
may yet be found in which this date is more 
satisfactory .... 

In view of the fact that the re-issue was for the 
Porte de mar service, its use on foreign letters and 
the postmarks of other countries will be of decided 
interest. The complete and satisfactory account of 
the Porte de mar stamps is yet to be written, and 
perhaps less is really known of these than any other 
distinct issue of Mexico. Our purpose here is only 
to speak of the foreign postmarks seen, leaving to 
another time a closer examination of the many 
details of the Porte de mar service . . A post- 
mark is seen of NEW YORK, on the re-issue. 
This was doubtless used in the regular way. Not 
so sure, however, are we of one seen on a copy of 
the 5 c. showing— LMOUTH—probably FAL- 
MOUTH. This stamp may have been used for 
the sea postage. The inverted FrancO pen-marks 

84 




!<»<•••««««»«»«>««<«»»>«>>»»«»««««<<)>««««««««»»«««««««>««»«»«< 



on this copy is the previously mentioned case where 
they are on the right of the stamp . . The date, 
'77, on this copy of the 5 c, is exceedingly clear and 
prominent. Inasmuch as the stamp went to the 
very threshold of keen-eyed collectors, it, indeed, 
seems fate that it escaped the ** new issues and 
discoveries** columns of that time. It will be re- 
membered that this 5 c. value was not chronicled 
until noticed in Le Timbre-Poste in FebVf 1882, 
five years later . . This date, *77, is also very 
clear in the CAMPECHE cancellation previously 
noticed. 

A corner of one stamp shows what may be a 
foreign postmark, — an infinitesimal EN. Is this 
BREMEN? 




^^•iM:A_jS 



A more complete copy of the Report of Post- 
master-General Dominguez, which will follow, 
states that the use of this stamp for Porte de mar 
purposes was to "* utilize the stamps already on 
hand which had been issued exclusively for 
domestic postage.** This would seem to indicate 
that the re-issue had been made in 1876 as a postal 
necessity, owing to local conditions, as none of the 
1867 issue could have been left over and used in 
1876. Another die was used for these, — the one 
indented on the left of the lower oval. But that the 

85 




tl 



re-issued stamps were used in the regular way is 
shown by copies, such as the 25 c. on the cover 
reproduced elsewhere, posted in Carmen, Jan. 1 7th,. 
the letter dated Jan. 15th— 1877. This letter was 
sent to MERIDA, and while it doubtless went by 
boat, via Progreso,. it was probably not by a foreign 
steamer (requiring Porte de mar postage) as the 
cover only bears the 25 c stamp, — the regular do- 
mestic rate. 

Other specimens are found also used in what 
must have been the regular way, which makes any 
future examination of its Porte de mar use fruitful in 
possibilities .... 



i 



t6 



««<,»«»«»«««»««t<«««««««««««««««»«««t««»t»««t«««««««««««»«»lt«««t 



Counterfeits 




HEN there are no rare 
stamps there will be no imi- 
tations, — perhaps. That 
this remarlcable one has had 
its share goes without say- 
ing . . For it alone of 
the many unique specimens, 
always in great demand, to 
escape the common lot would 
be a violation of the laws of nature . . It is only 
by comparison with other copies that these may be 
recognized, and it is hoped here to give such other 
examples as possible, that collectors may know the 
salient paints both of the genuine and made-to-order, 
thus being sure of what is right where a solitary 
specimen only is in evidence .... 

This inability to compare with others has re- 
sulted in so-called Campeche stamps reposing, un- 
suspected for years, in the albums of some of the 
world's great collections, — paste diamonds wholly 
unworthy of their magnificent settings .... 

And yet we know of no stamp of which a 
counterfeit copy can be told so quickly. The many 
operations necessary to produce it increase five-fold 
the difficulties of the forger, and any one of these 

87 







T=?3Sr 



', «<««>«««4«««4«««4>««4«4««««<)««>>«4<««4«4««<««' 




-UilUmG 



five stands ready to betray him . » The many 
points already referred to will help to make a collec- 
tor more or less familiar with the chief characteris- 
tics of the genuine, and a study of the accompany- 
ing reproductions, even unsatisfactory as all such 
must be, will further aid to this end .... 

Some forgeries of this stamp are easily told by 
the very crude and bungling execution both in de- 
sign and impression. Stamps and cancellations are 
found so poorly engraved that it is frequently un- 
necessary to compare them with an original or a 
photograph of one . . The different impressions 
of the upper and lower ovals will be noted. In the 
former the lining should be relatively sharp, even 
though faint. In the lower oval the lines are much 
heavier, broken and uneven . . Compare 
CORREOS and HACIENDA. 

Any copies in which the two ovals have been 
struck in the same ink are palpable frauds. In the 
upper oval the forgers have frequently overlooked 
the shape of the ornaments separating the two lines 
of inscription. These in the genuine consist of four 
dots, diamond shaped, forming a deeign also of 
diamond shape. In some forgeries the dots make 
the design almost square .... 

In the lower oval, one counterfeit is easily dis- 
tinguished by the points of the wings of the eagle 
not coming to the line of the oval inside of the in- 
scription, while in the genuine the tips of the wings 

88 




Countorfoit 







itti**t«4itt«tittttt«i«iti* 



>ii%tt«ti< 



>ii«it»»ttti«iiittt 



touch this line . . On the right side this point is 
nearly opposite the round ornament with the dot in 
the centre which separates the two lines of inscrip- 
tion . . . , 

We can hardly believe that any counterfeits 
have been surcharged . . At least, we have 
never seen a surcharged copy which in any one 
detail seemed unsatisfactory . . Of course, those 
without surcharge may be originals, or the re-issue 
— and perhaps — counterfeits .... 

Forgers of these stamps have been quite 
neglectful of the '' pen-strokes/' probably owing to 
the fact that they were never thought of as having 
a definite form. Then, too, the position of these has 
been over-looked. In the genuine these are almost 
invariably on the left. In the catalogue fac-simile, 
as well as the one on the page of plates in the Ad- 
vanced, neither of which is of a genuine stamp, 
these pen-strokes are through the centre. We have 
never seen a forgery with them on the left hand 
side. The value of this incidental should not, how- 
ever, be over-rated .... 

Some forgeries are seen with a very poor coun- 
terfeit cancellation of HECELCHAKAN. The 
outer line of this, though heavy, is found very 
broken and ragged. The numerals differ greatly in 
shape in the counterfeits. A common characteristic 
is an upper stroke of the 5 which is almost straight 
on top, and a 2 in the 25 which seems in great 

89 









^^^^mss^^ 



. O'Vr- •*• ^ -i^-T^ -• J- 













danger of pitching forwards, so mis-shapen as it has 
been made .... 

Perhaps the most convincing and at the same • 
time the easiest forgery to detect is the one in which 
the lower oval is in black, made from the original 
die, attention to which is called elsewhere. This 
oval with the figures in blue may always be placed 
in the counterfeit class. 

It is needless to say that it is a very great ad- 
vantage if these stamps can be secured on the origi- 
nal covers. They are not quite so convenient to 
house, but one will sleep easier nights with them in 
his collection, and in this case he will not be em- 
barrassed with a very large number . , The 
cover is a silent witness, which when carefully 
studied, tells many a secret, to welcome a friend or 
utterly rout a pretender .... 

And yet, even covers may well be examined 
with much care. Many addressed to Ignacio 
Hernandez bear stamps which are forgeries. They 
are generally directed to Mexico City and have been 
seen with so-called stamps, not only of Campeche, 
but also of Guadalajara, Cuernavaca, Patzcuaro, 
and even a curious made-up label supposedly of 
Puebla . . They are, for the most part, ex- 
tremely convincing, the aged appearance of the 
paper and ink employed suggesting that a large 
amount of this worthy gentleman's correspondence, 
quite bona-fide, had been secured, and used as a 

90 



♦ •*•«««««»«««« 



• * • « < « « I « • t » t « I 



«•<<<•<<«««,,,,,,,,,, 



<<«<«<««t«««ll« 



V 




basis for fraudulent stamps . . The name is a 
very common one in Mexico — but we have never 
as yet had the pleasure of seeing one addressed as 
above with genuine stamps .... 

Thus — even in Philately — may one's good 
name suffer through the sins of others! 



9J 



' ■< l P-*«« . l-'ff-'Ul. 



-w^ 



■%:■■■ ■»j»*..>s» 



Existing Copies 



• ♦ ♦ • 




OLLECTORS --asa rule 

pre-eminently practical, — 
are quite sure to view with 
approval any attention 
which may be given to 
the rarity and consequent 
commercial value of their 
treasures .... 
The foregoing dust-dry details may be hur- 
riedly passed over by many, but here are vital 
matters. The very foundation on which rests 
much of the joy of collecting is undoubtedly our 
love of possessing, — or, more properly, acquiring, — 
unique specimens, and the satisfaction is largely 
governed by their scarcity . . And thus by easy 
stages we arrive at the unfailing criterion of hard, 
practical, loud-speaking dollars . 
As to their rarity: 

The Mexican post-office officials state that the 
stamps were used but a very short time when origi- 
nally issued in 1867, and the evidence is strong in 
support of this statement . . In fact, when a full 
count has been made of the specimens of this type 
known to-day the number will be found surprisingly 
small. Much effort has been made to trace and 

92 



: locate existing copies, but it must be confessed with 
: very indifferent results. As is the case with other 
: subjects still far from complete, much inviting space 
: is provided on the opposite pages for future notes, 
and the little now recorded may be supplemented 
from time to time as other copies come to light. 
Future generous co-operation by interested collectors 
in adding to these meagre facts will be gladly circu- 
lated . . It is needless to point out the necessity 
of including only copies of whose authenticity 
there can be no question .... 

Aside from the few specimens which have 
directly served as the basis for these notes, it has 
been possible up to the present time to locate but 
two copies of the original issue in this country. 
These are a 5 and a 50 centavos in the magnificent 
general collection of Mr. George H. Worthington, 
of Cleveland, Ohio. They are not on original 
covers, but are both surcharged, — that of the 5 c. 
being inverted, — and have the LAGUNA and 
CHAMPOTON cancellations respectively. These 
beautiful specimens show two types of the ** pen- 
marks " used on the original issue. The same 
collection is rich in two copies of the re-issue also, 
a 5 and a 2S c, both cancelled CARMEN, but with 
dates, as usual, unsatisfactory .... 

In the British Museum there are three copies of 
the re-issue, — of course, unsurcharged, — two of 
the 25 c. and one 50 c. value. These have the 

93 



• •*l««««««»««l 



«««««««».«««,««,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 



i> 




"sttt;- 












. te-3T39fe-V-A- 



■i-^yL^vj 




CARMEN cancellation .... 

In a very fine specialized collection of Mexican 
stamps in London^ also^ — that of Mr. Randolph 
Frentzel — there is a copy of the original issue, a 
50 c, surcharged, on portion of cover, also a 25 c. 
of the re-issue. The former is particularly note- 
worthy being on yellow-buff paper. It has the 
CAMPECHE cancellation, which is without date. 
The cancellation of the re-issued 25 c. is CARMEN, 
Jan. 4, I87~(probably 1877.) .... 

While there may be other copies in England it 
has been impossible to locate them as yet , . 
And the same may be said of France, Germany and 
other countries of Europe , . . . 

It had been hoped to give here the details of 
any copies in the Ferrari collection in Paris, but 
particulars have not been obtainable, persistent in- 
quiries for the benefit of less fortunate philatelists 
being politely ignored. The almost unfailing 
courtesy in this respect, however, of collectors gen- 
erally has been splendid . . In the collections in 
Mexico there is a fine copy of the re-issue, on cover, 
in that of Mr. Eduardo Schmeckpeper, of Culiacan. 
This has the CARMEN cancellation, and the letter 
which bears it is dated Jan. 15, *77 . . . . 

Of copies in collections in Mexico City we 
have not as yet seen photographs, or received data 
sufficiently definite to chronicle here. Copies are 
reported in the collections of Senores E. Y. Diaz, 

94 



.««%«««««««< 



: A. Fernandez and M. Arechavala .... 
: An attempt at a comprehensive view would 

: suggest that probably eight or ten of the originals 

: and twice as many of the re-issue might be a fair 

I estimate of known existing copies .... 
J The value of these stamps must, under the 

^ circumstances, be quite problematical. The clouds 

I of uncertainty under which they have always rested 

: has naturally had the effect of preventing any interest 

: in, or demand for, copies. The 25 c. is priced at 

: $65.00 in some catalogues, but this is really mean- 

: ingless in view of the fact that no specimens can be 

I obtained. We know of no records of their sale in 

♦ the auction rooms, and would doubt the value of any 

: prices obtained there in the past, the basis for such 

: being the merest guess-work .... As the 

: stamps are brought into a stronger light and the 

: circumstances of the two issues better known, they 

: must surely take a commanding place in the gallery 

I of philatelic treasures . » . . 
I It is frequently seen that the element of rarity is 

; not the sole criterion in determining the commercial 

: value of stamps. Many have brought fabulous 

: prices of which there are numerous known copies. 

: The prevailing taste or fashion enters into the equa- 

: tion perhaps more than good business judgment 

I would always justify. But we believe that every 

I worthy rarity will sooner or later attain its rightful 

; position among its felIows,~all experience going to 

95 




^ 



^t 



: show that the little-regarded of yesterday is the 

: much-prized of to-day , . . . 
: That the stamps erf Campeche will again dem- 

: onstrate this adage is as certain as that there are 

* collectors and collections .... 



n 



»••.•«»««•««••««««»««♦•♦♦•••«•«♦♦••••••«••••••«•♦««•••♦«•••••••' 



Addenda-— 



: Being for the most part the contents of a Catch 

: Basket for Second Thoughts, Inconsiderate Trifles, 

^ and a few Matters too cumbersome for insertion 

- elsewhere . . 



VALUES. (Page 33) 

Surveying tlie \vhole history of tkis stamp, the existing necessities, 
its mechanical execution, the probable requirements of the scattering 
population, largely native, one must conclude that in all probability 
the 5 centavos value was but an after consideration. The first step 
would have been to provide for necessary letter postage, requiring 
the 25 c. and 50 c. denominations. After'wards, when in rare 
instances a lower denomination w^as needed for a circular or a possible 
newspaper, the die for the 5, already in use, would be the logical make- 
shift and answer all purposes for the very limited demand .... 



THE SURCHARGE: (Page 46) 

Extract from Report made hv the Mexican Postal Officials, dated 
December 22, I go8. — Translation. . . Regarding the question as 
to the meaning of the sign or over-print as found on some of the 
Mexican stamps, as submitted, we may inform you that it is, postally 
speaking, not an over-print, but the cancelling impression on the 
stamps . . . the same signifying FRANCO, the design being formed 
by the use of the old Spanish letters F and O, the first and last letterj 
of the word. For this reason the reproductions sent show no other 
signs of cancellation on the stamps 
\Ve may inform you that a few of these cancelling seals -with the 

97 



J^ 



^«4«4t«444*«44««44*«««4«*«4*4««44«<«i««««4«««««44«««««t4««««t< 









^ • 




r 






^ 




^^ 



^1^ 



,\^i 



^ 






«<«,ll«««ll««««l<t«««««<t««««««««t««t«««««tttt<<«««««<««ttt«««««* 



"'l'^ 



above mentioned engraved design are still preserved in the Postal 
museum. 

Regarding the numerals % , ii , ^4 , 4 and 8 on the stamps submitted, 
the reasons for these are ^vell defined by several ordinances of the 
postal authorities of the so-called empire, which in 1864 ordered the 
stamps of the 1856 and 1861 issues — demonetized issues still on hand 
in the General Administration of Posts — to be used to provide the 
offices under imperial dominion, overprinting said stamps with the 
numbers %, '/i, ^^ , 4 and 8, these imprints being in accordance with 
the postal tariff of the time, which fixed '4 real to be paid for every 
newspaper. These over-prints, in philatelic works kno^vn as sur- 
charges, had as their object to make use of the demonetized stamps, 
giving them ih'w values which the offices needed, by imprinting letters 
or numerals on the same, thus nullifying the original values expressed 
on the stamps. Thus the numbers %., '/i, J^, 4 and 8 marked on the 
stamps represent the amounts at ■which they ■were sold to pay postage 
in the state of Campeche. 

This action of the Postal Administration of Mexico in 1864 is still 
resorted to in several European countries, especially in Portugal, in 
the postal service of ■which country, for example, a stamp of the 
value of 300 reis is surcharged — in philatelic terms — making it of 
the value of 50 or 25 reis ... In the Museum of the Postal 
Department there are a number of brass stamps used to impress these 
numerals, which were, by order, collected from the various post- 
offices . . . Where the Principal post-offices had demonetized 
stamps on hand they ■were provided with these seals for making the 
over-prints, and authorized to make such quantities of said imprinted 
stamps as they believed necessary for the service, with ne^w^ values, 
under the supervision of the Fiscal agent, or sub-treasurer, 'vho 
charged the said Principal post-office with the total value of the 
imprints made 
(Signed) J. Velarde. (Signed) Justino Obregon. M. 






THE SURCHARGE. (Page 48) 

That all large figures struck on these stamps of the 1856 and 1861 
issues vi'ill prove to be " ne\v values is quite impossible. Curiosities 
and exceptional examples of over-printed stamps ■W'-ill be found, be 

98 



•<<«••««•«•««<<««««<««<<•••«««««««< 



««<«<«t«««4<t«t«t«t<<«t««««|t«. 




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i fl^. ^ W 



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: / • •• « » 

1 ^d% 








> i « i i * » ' 



>»»««»»< 



> i « « » » » < 




tKey surcharges, postage-dues or cancellations. The momentary 
■whim of a postal clerk with the remaining dies of numerals by his 
side and plenty of time on his hands could in a moment cause us end- 
less conjecture. 

A caprice might lead him to strike a postage-due mark on a stamp to 
answer that purpose and at the same time to cancel it. The offices 
had seals of many varieties — figures and designs — left over from pre- 
postage stamp times. 

Else-where is show^n a cover which -was sent from San Luis Potosi to 
Guadalajara bearing a dos reales stamp of the 1856 issue. The stamp 
is surcharged S. L. POTOSI, and is cancelled only ^vith a large 3. 
The date of the cover is 1858, -which would remove it from the list 
of " new values." It may be a postage-due mark, although this is 
improbable in vie^w^ of the distance the cover "svas sent. It may be 
simply an unusual cancellation. Another copy of a similar 3 on a 
dos reales of the same issue, not on cover, is shown. This is also 
surcharged and has anolher cancellation, that of ZACATECAS, this 
being the characteristic box-stamp often seen. This may be a "ne-w 
value' — it depends upon the date — or it may be a "freak" postage-due 
struck on the stamp. All we can establish here is that the 3 on this 
specimen -w^as from the same die that was . sed in Zacatecas before the 
use of stamps . . This is proven by the cover also sho^vn ^vith the 
3 and the same box stamp afterwards used for cancelling the stamp 
referred to. The date of this cover is 1854, tvw'o years before the 
introduction of postage stamps .... 

These considerations are necessary to impress the importance of ciati' 
li'hen used, before placing stamps in the class of these new ly found 
provisionals .... 



THE PEN STROKES. (Page 54) 

A theory has been advanced by believers in the " rubrica" that in 
order to touch both ovals the sheet was turned side'svays in making 
them. This view could hardly result, we th?nk, except from the 
examination of some single specimen. The shading of the pen in 
down^ward strokes easily proves that the designs were made verti- 
cally, — not only from the oval but in the shading of the centre or 
lower portion of the perpendicular stroke. This -would not result 
were the line made with a pen moving horizontally. 

99 



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"^irfBHB' 



^ 



* « * * * t t 4 



>f««**«*«**< 



««*f»«t««*«««< 



The explanation of these pen-marks, it should be remembered, is in 
reality but the generally accepted one. that they are the authorization 
or the stamp. This is undoubted, inasmuch as ■without it the stamp 
■was incDmplete and could not be used. But ■we venture to go further 
in believing that it \vas not a meaningless individual "rubrica". that 
it had a definite design and significance, that it ■was the design found 
previously hand-stamped on earlier issues, and that it signified. — 
■whatever it there signified .... 



THE CATALOGUE VARIETY. (Page (64) 

The original copy of the stamp on the page of plates in The Advanced 
catalogue was for many years in a \vorld-famous collection and re- 
garded as a great rarity. A careful examination shows that the lower 
oval, in black, is much more carefully printed than is usually seen in 
the stamps. From the original brass die, undoubtedly, it ■would seem 
to have been impressed on some official blank, document or letter, as 
the seal of the tax-collecting office only. To this impression was 
undoubtedly added afterwards the upper oval and numerals in the 
spreading light blue ink, giving an effect totally unlike that of the 
local stamp. Other similar copies seen ^vou]d suggest that all of 
this type originated in the same way .... 



EXTRACT FROM LETTER from Senor Noberto Domiu^ue^, 
Diiector General de Corieos, dated Jan. 14, igog. — Translation: 
"I have the pleasure to enclose the results of the investigation made 
by the officers of the consulting department, the members of ■which 
are very competent, and whose sole study is of technical and legis- 
lative matt<;rs of the service, and who can pass an authorized opinion 
on matters like these w^hich require very careful and laborious 
study ... I have also to inform you that there is in course of 
preparation a work entitled. "History of the Postal Service in 
Mexico 




¥k^^ 




iOO 



./^ 



"To the Director General of Posts: 

In this letter of inquiry . . are the following questions, 

to -which we append the desired information : 

1st. In what year or years were the stamps marked 1 and 2 issued? 
[These stamps sho-wn on Report opposite page 79.] 

They ^vere issued for interior, or domestic, postage in 1867, after 
the down-fall of the so-called Empire, and again for Porte de Mar, 
(sea postage) in 1876, when the government finally terminated the 
revolutionary insurrections in Mexico. 

2nd. Where ^vere the stamps printed ? 

In the city of Campeche, that being the seat of the Administracion 
Principal of Posts, as well as of the Sub-treasury, — the postal 
authorities deciding upon the manner of the issue, the same being 
approved by the fiscal agent. 

3rd. Who authorized the issue of the stamps, the general post 
office department of the Government, or the sub-treasurer at 
Campeche ? 

The general postal department of the government authorised them 
by Article 13 of the Decree of Feb. 21st, 1856, (which continued in 
force until 1883) issuing the respective regulations on the 15th of 
July of the same year. Article 13 reads: 

"In an unforseen case, caused through a lack of stamps, the means 
to remedy this shall be adopted through the intervention of the 
local authorities, by the means provided to cover said deficiency. 
Bat deficiencies caused by other reasons, through uncertainty or 
carelessness of heads of bureaus shall be on their account and at 
their own ri»k, they to make returns as if such stamps had been 
sold." 

During the first moments of the re-establishment of the government 
in 1867 the General Director of Posts, acting on this authority, 
adopted methods to supply the post offices lacking stamps with 
suitable forms of seals, and such seals were issued to the post offices 
w^here they were considered most urgent, like Campeche, in the 
various values to -which the inquirer refers, affixing thereon the seal 
of the post office department, as the issuing office, together with the 
seal of the office of the treasury department of said state, as inter- 

101 




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ventor, — the Federal financial office being compelled to guard against 
the mis-appropriation of the funds of the post office department. 
These stamps were used but little at that time, — 1867. 
In 1876. as before mentioned} the government, terminating the 
revolutions in Mexico, ^vas re-established, and the seals were again 
used in Campeche, but only in sea ports, in compliance with Circular 
Note No. 9, of May 12, 1875, which provided that : 

"A special account shall be kept by the office of the revenue 
collector of these countersigned seals, and the amount of sales shall 
be entered under the heading of Porte de mar, (Sea ports) as 
defined by Circular Note, No. 1, which reads: — 'Care should 
always be taken that the interested parties mark on their mail the 
steamer by which it is to be forwarded to destination, and you 
must not neglect to paste on the reverse of the article dispatched 
the countersigns (stamps) sho\ving the pre-pay ment of postage by 
sea, as aforesaid. " 

4th. For ^vhat reason ^vere these stamps issued, — was it caused by 
the lack of stamps, or by reason of not wishing to use the ones of the 
so-called Empire? 

The issue of the stamps w^ith the tw^o seals for postage was caused 
in 1867 by legal necessity, inasmuch as the laws of the Republic had 
declared null and void all acts of the so-called imperial government. 
But in 1876 their use was occasioned by the necessity of indicating 
the Porte de mar on letters by means ot countersigned stamps, and in 
order not to waste the stamps (to use those already conveniently to 
hand) lA^hich were issued exclusively for domestic postage, they were 
adopted to serve as Porte de mar. Circular No. 1. dated Jan. 8, 1875 
explains this use in the following terms: "For each postal article 
intended for a foreign country -which is mailed in the post office you 
■will charge the amount of the regular domestic postage, affixing and 
cancelling the value in stamps on the article, and in addition you w^ill 
collect an equal amount, but not affixing this in (regular) stamps on 
the article, as the Porte de mar must be remitted to Vera Cruz in 
cash (to pay the agent of the vessel). Other\vise the postal service 
w^ould be the loser of this amount, if the (regular) stamps were 
affixed in the ordinary way as is done on domestic mail." 
5th. Why has No. 1 of the fac-similes submitted the district name, 
which is missing o.i No. 2 ? 

102 





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. If it is missing on some copies the official character of the stamp 
is not affected. The fact that the reproduction of the stamp shown 
is cancelled with the black seal of El Carmen gives it the undoubted 
identification of having been of official origin. 

6th. \Vhat do the pen-marks on the stamps signify? 

The mark in question is the " rubrica " of the financial agent, 
which alone gave these united seals the character of an authorized 
stamp. 

As to the meaning of the large O (frequently found on 
stamps of the earlier issues) ive would state that it is simply a 
cancellation, and has no other object. It w^as used at various times 
from 1856 to 1883. Since Jan. 1st, 1884, all stamps have had to be 
cancelled with dated seals. 



(Signed) J.Velarde. (Signed) Justino Obregon, M. 

(Signed) Alberto Michel, (Secy.) 



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